The Return
by Dreaming Snow
Summary: HP/CCS crossover. Almost 24 years had passed since Voldemort's demise, and 4 years had passed since Sakura's life-changing experience in Japan. Now, with the help of a sorcerer and forbidden, unspoken magic, Voldemort has been revived, both body and all the pieces of his soul. When he learns about Sakura, he grows interested in the powers she possesses. What will happen? REWRITTEN
1. His Dark Revival

A/N: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP and Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Plot: Almost 24 years had passed since Voldemort's demise, and 4 years had passed since Sakura Kinomoto's life-changing experience in Japan. Now, with the help of a sorcerer and forbidden, unspoken magic, Voldemort has been revived, both body and all the pieces of his soul. When he learns about Sakura and the Cards, he grows interested in the powers she possesses. What will happen?

* * *

The Return

Chapter 1: His Dark Revival

Fingers tapped against a desk, signifying someone's pure frustration. Covering the desk were myriads of papers, notebooks, and a textbook that was lying open. In another hand, a pencil swiveled between fingers. It wasn't too long before the frustration got out of hand and the pencil dropped from the hand holding it onto the desk as both hands flew up to grasp light brown hair while a cry of frustration erupted. Sakura Kinomoto, a 15 year old at Seijou High, was never particularly good at math, and she found Elementary Algebra to be difficult, especially since it had letters involved. A golden ball of fluff flew over to the frustrated girl and looked at the mess sprawled out on the desk and the unfinished work.

"Sakura, do you need help?" Kero asked.

Sakura threw her head back and wailed, "Yes! I don't understand this stuff at all! I'd rather go back to the days of gallivanting about town capturing cards than do math!"

It had been six years since her life-changing ordeal, when she first opened a mysterious book in her father's library in the basement and accidentally, with the help of a card named The Windy, set free 51 Clow Cards throughout the town of Tomoeda. 3 years had passed since she became the Cardmistress after defeating Yue, who now protected her as her Moon Guardian, and converted the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards with the mysterious help of a boy from England named Eriol Hiiragizawa. As things had quieted down since then, there hadn't been many adventures for Sakura anymore, and it was back to the same old routine as before Sakura had even discovered the Clow Book, now called the Sakura Book, in the basement.

Kero patted the young teenager on the back before landing on top of her pile of homework and took a look at her homework. Problems such as "solve (3/2)x+42" were on the worksheets and in the textbook, circles were drawn around the word problems that were assigned. Kero frowned. Oh boy. Algebra. This was going to be more difficult to explain than he thought.

"On second thought, why don't you just call Tomoyo?" he suggested, believing Sakura could benefit more from having another human explain to her.

Sakura was a bit annoyed that Kero couldn't help after he had offered, but her face soon brightened up. "Yeah, that's a great idea!" Opening the top drawer of her desk, she took out a pink cell phone and quickly pressed #2, Tomoyo's speed dial number. The #1 speed dial number was reserved for a special person. Tomoyo had once joked about being hurt that she wasn't Sakura's number one contact since they had been friends for several years. It wasn't too long before the dialing tone ended and a perky voice was heard on the other end.

"Hey Sakura-chan, what's up?"

"Tomoyo-chan! I need your help!"

A giggle could be heard. "Let me guess, math homework?"

"Yeah. I don't understand it at all!"

"Sakura, it's really simple. Here's what you do…" Tomoyo then spent the next thirty minutes tutoring Sakura over the phone on her homework, being patient with her best friend when she expressed frustration. Thanks to her friend's explanations and tutoring, Sakura eventually understood enough to do some more problems on her own.

"Hey, wanna go karaoke for a while, get your mind off of math?" Tomoyo suggested.

"Yes!" Sakura agreed.

"Alright, I'll meet you at the Zen Karaoke Lounge in fifteen," Tomoyo said. "Bye!"

"Bye!" The call ended with a single press of the end call button. Sakura got up from her chair, leaving her math homework behind as she grabbed her bag.

"Where are you going?" Kero asked her quizzically.

"To karaoke with Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said before closing the door behind her, leaving Kero alone. However, a short moment later, Sakura popped her head in again and warned, "Don't eat any sweets while I'm gone, Kero-chan, got it?"

Kero groaned. "I got it, I got it!"

Sakura smiled before closed the door again. She changed into outdoor shoes at the front door before going out and hoping onto a pink bike cruiser. No longer did she own rollerblades—she had given those up at thirteen. It wasn't too long before she reached the Zen Karaoke Lounge and saw Tomoyo waiting. She locked her bike up to the nearest bike rack before coming up to the dark-haired girl.

"Sorry, did you wait long?" Sakura apologized.

Tomoyo shook her head. "No, not at all! Come on, let's eat and sing our hearts out!"

Meanwhile, far away in Europe, strange things were happening, and Eriol knew it, for he was close to the source. He could sense a dark force in the air, a force he had never sensed before. Walking over to the window, he brushed one curtain aside and peered out the second-story window. A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention as he turned to face Kaho Mizuki, Sakura's former fourth grade substitute teacher. His guardians, Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun, were also present. They, too, had sensed that something foreboding was upon them.

"Master, should we be concerned?" Ruby asked.

"It is wise to be cautious, but for the time being, it seems as if there's no danger yet," Eriol spoke. He then walked over to his favorite armchair and sat down. The rug in front of the armchair suddenly vanished and was replaced by what looked like a mirror. With a wave of his hand, the reflection of the mirror changed to show Sakura and Tomoyo at a karaoke lounge, singing along to a Japanese version of the Korean pop group SNSD's song Genie. A smile formed on the Clow Reed reincarnation's mouth—it seemed like the young cardmistress was enjoying herself, and had not suspected anything out of the ordinary. It was a sign that the presence was only concentrated in Europe, specifically around the Great Britain area. Sakura needn't worry. The image of Sakura and Tomoyo singing faded away and the rug was soon back to where it belonged.

"How fortunate that the young mistress and her friend are doing well," Spinel replied.

"Yes," Eriol replied. "I do not want to bother her with problems that are only occurring here. If it does eventually spread to Japan, then I hope that Sakura will be ready."

In an old, abandoned house lurked a tall figure, carrying something in a vial. The figure walked over to a cauldron in the middle of the kitchen and poured the contents of the vial, which appeared to be ashes, into the cauldron, before pouring in a few potions. The figure then stepped back and, from the long sleeves, withdrew a staff. Expertly waving it in the air, a spell was repeatedly chanted in what sounded like Latin. It wasn't too long before there was an explosion that sent the figure flying back. When he came to, he saw another being standing before him. Shocked at the success of what he had done, the figure immediately knelt before the being.

"My Lord…I have brought you back from the dead." Before him, was the man that a young wizard named Harry Potter had defeated so many years ago—Lord Voldemort. The sorcerer had managed to do what no dark wizard had been able to do, and that was resurrect Lord Voldemort. He thought that this dark wizard, the one who had terrorized many for years, would spare him, but Voldemort reached out and enclosed his fingers around the man's neck.

"How is it that I am here?" he demanded in a high, raspy voice. "What magic did you use?"

"M-master, I-I used a powerful s-s-spell, one that's as ancient as time itself, that had been kept secret for centuries," the sorcerer spoke. "It is a spell that only sorcerers know and wizards do not, a forbidden spell that can bring the dead back to life!"

"I see," Voldemort said coldly as he let go of the sorcerer's neck, allowing the man to breath again. The man withdrew from his sleeve a wand and presented it to the wizard before him. "M-m-master…I have procured a wand for you."

"Ah…" Voldemort took the wand, seemingly a little happy to be alive and to be in possession of a wand again, though he did not show it on his cold, callous face. He then pointed the wand at the sorcerer. "Bring back my most loyal servant, and I'll determine then if I should spare you. I don't like sorcerers," he said coldly. He was referring to Bellatrix, his loyal death eater who had never failed to serve him and who died at the hands of Molly Weasley, who belonged to a family of blood traitors. If he was going to take control again, he would need Bellatrix's help.

"Y-y-yes, my lord," the sorcerer spoke. He was about to leave before Voldemort asked him for his name.

"L-L-Leon," the sorcerer spoke before he disappeared.

* * *

A/N: Done with the first chapter. Please review!


	2. Events Unfold

Chapter 2: Events Unfold

The streets and shops were bustling with excitement as hundreds of young witches and wizards darted about Diagon Alley, either buying their wands for the first time at Ollivander's, or purchasing textbooks from Flourish and Blotts for the new school year. At Flourish and Blotts, Albus, James, and Lily Potter, children of famed Harry Potter and his wife Ginny Weasley, along with Hugo and Rose Weasley, children of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, were getting books for their upcoming year at Hogwarts. Lily was entering her third year, Al and Rose were both entering their fifth year, and James was going into his final year at Hogwarts. As they were going into their fifth year, Al and Rose both knew that they had to start preparing for their OWLs, while James had to worry about his NEWTs. Once they had their books purchased, they went outside, where they bumped into Scorpius Malfoy on his way inside.

"Malfoy," James said his name with a sneer, earning him an elbow to the rib from Lily.

Scorpius' eyes narrowed at James. This kid thought he was so cool, picking on someone younger than him. He nodded curtly at the others. "Hello. See you got your books alright."

Rose nodded. "Getting yours now, Scorpius?"

Scorpius scoffed at the absurdity of her question. "No, I'm going to buy an alligator. Yes, I'm purchasing my books!"

"Alright then. See ya," Rose said as she walked past him, followed by the rest of her friends. Unlike the others, especially James, she and Scorpius were on friendly terms. Competitive, yes, but nevertheless friendly. They headed back to the Leaky Cauldron and towards the fireplace, ready to head home and get ready for another year at Hogwarts.

* * *

"I wonder if you will remember me who used to dream

You said that I was like a child searching for a star  
You understood me, who was different than others  
But I didn't even get to say thank you

Where are you? Are you the same as me, who misses you?  
You became a star – forever breathing in my heart"

Sakura sang the chorus of the song A Child Searching for a Star by a young Korean singer named IU. The song was in Korean, but luckily for her, small katakana was on top of the Korean that were displayed across the bottom of the screen, allowing her to pronounce the words as correctly as the Japanese language would allow, meaning that there were still some pronunciation errors. When the song eventually ended, she could hear Tomoyo clapping from behind her.

"Wonderful, Sakura-chan!" she cried.

Sakura blushed at the compliment. She didn't think she was as good a singer as her best friend was, who almost always got the solos in choir, whose voice sounded like a bird when she sang. "T-thanks," she said meekly.

"Alright, let's sing one more song before heading to my place. I've got some outfits that I want you to try on!" Tomoyo walked over to the book of karaoke tracks and looked through it. "Oh! Let's sing Anata to Ireba!"

About 15 minutes later, Sakura and Tomoyo were hanging out at Tomoyo's house in her room…or rather, Tomoyo was making Sakura a victim to trying out her new designs. Since they were older, Tomoyo's designs were a little more sophisticated, yet still had some hints of bizarreness. Sakura stepped out in an outfit that made her look like an overgrown pink flamingo, her face as red as beets. Maybe not all of Tomoyo's new design was sophisticated, as this one was just plain bizarre.

"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura whimpered, wishing to take the outfit off. She felt embarrassed wearing such a thing, but Tomoyo seemed to be having the time of her life filming Sakura in one of her new designs. A sigh escaped from between Sakura's lips. It was so characteristic of Tomoyo to do that.

"Okay, next outfit," Tomoyo said.

"Hoee…" Even at 15, Sakura still muttered the childish, nonsensical word that didn't have any meaning. She turned around and went back into the changing room, grabbing an outfit she didn't wear yet. Soon, she emerged from the changing room, wearing what looked like a pale yellow dress, made of lace and polyester, with a surplice neckline. A ribbon, the same color as the rest of the dress, was tied around the waistline, with the bow resting near Sakura's right side. The lacy part of the skirt of the dress was cut up to resemble the petals of a flower, held up by wiring hidden within the fabric. Underneath this lacy part was another section of the skirt that looked like an ordinary skirt. Where the stitches would be on the shoulder parts of the dress were replaced by two small white lily flowers. White gloves snaked from Sakura's hands up to her elbow. On her feet were light green flats, similar to the shoes she had worn when she captured the Time Card so many years ago, only these lacked the yellow cotton-looking ball that the shoes back then had. This was a little better than the last dress Sakura tried on, she had to admit. It made her look like a flower.

"It's…it's pretty," Sakura said shyly.

"Oh, yay!" Tomoyo shrieked in happiness. "I'm so happy you like it, Sakura-chan!"

"A-ano…I think I'll go change out of—" her voice faltered as she heard her cell phone on the table ringing. Forgetting about what she was going to do, she walked over to the table and picked up the cell phone. The caller ID on the screen displayed Eriol's name.

"Eriol-kun! I wonder what he's calling about," Sakura wondered out loud as she pressed the call button. Normally, Eriol wouldn't call unless there was something serious going on. He wasn't the kind to just lightly call someone just for the sake of having a conversation.

"Hello?"

"Sakura-san, long time no see," Eriol said on the other end. "How are you?"

"Um, fine," Sakura politely responded. "Eriol-kun, is something wrong? Usually you only call if there's pressing matters."

"You're absolutely correct about that," Eriol replied. "Listen, have you felt anything…strange over there?"

Sakura shook her head, which was silly considering Eriol wasn't there to see her headshake. "No, not at all. Why?"

"Well, there's been a disturbing presence here in England," Eriol explained. "As of now, it seems to be contained to the country of Great Britain, but I fear that it may eventually spread over to Japan. Don't worry, Sakura-san. Everything is fine at the moment. It seems like our friends in the wizarding world are keeping this dark presence at bay—"

"Wait, wizarding world? Eriol-kun, what are you talking about?" Sakura was confused. What wizarding world? Was there a separate world from the one she knew? And what did Eriol mean, that they were keeping the dark presence at bay?

"Don't fret too much about it. I'll call you again if anything else happens," Eriol said before the line went dead.

Sakura stared at the phone in her hand, trying to make sense of what was going on. Tomoyo looked at her with concern.

"Sakura-chan? What did Hiiragizawa-kun say?" the dark-haired girl asked.

Sakura shook her head, continuing to look at her phone. "I don't know…something about there being a dark presence in England and how I shouldn't worry since it apparently hasn't reached here yet…I don't like the sound of this."

All of a sudden, the windows to the room burst open as an owl came flying in. Sakura and Tomoyo gawked at it, for the sight of owls in Tomoeda was a rare occurrence. Sakura noticed that it was carrying a letter with its beak and walked over to it. It dropped the letter into her outstretched hands and gave Tomoyo a look that signified that it wanted something to drink for its arduous journey. Tomoyo seemed to understand, for she immediately left the room to fetch the bird some water. In the meantime, Sakura carefully cut along an edge of the envelope and withdrew the content. Unfolding the letter, she ignored the address portion and read the body of it:

"Dear Miss Sakura Kinomoto,

We are pleased to inform you that under a new policy we are testing, you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is a special treat, for this is the first time that we are allowing magical students from outside Great Britain to attend the school. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31."

Sakura put the letter down, her mind spinning just as Tomoyo returned with water for the owl. It was surprising that the bird of prey was still here. She took a quick look at the letter again, not understanding what was going on. A magical school for witchcraft and wizardry? But she wasn't even a witch or wizard! So what gives? Also, there was only three weeks left until September! Tomoyo noticed the pale look on Sakura's face and asked what was wrong. Sakura simply just handed her friend the letter for her to read. Tomoyo read over the letter, her eyes growing big as saucers.

"Sakura, this is great news!" she cried. "My Sakura-chan, attending a magical school!"

"But if I go, then I won't be able to see you," Sakura protested.

Tomoyo's face fell. "Oh…right. But this is a once in a lifetime chance for you! You should go!"

"But…what about school here? Onii-chan and otou-san wouldn't be very happy if I told them about this," Sakura protested again. Her big brother, Touya, would be especially disapproving of sending his little sister far away to a place where he wouldn't be able to keep a close watch over her, as he always felt responsible for her safety ever since their mother died.

"Just tell your family that you got a chance to study overseas," Tomoyo explained. "I really want you to get the opportunity of a lifetime, Sakura-chan! And if you do decide to go, please, take the outfits I made with you!" She gestured to all the clothes that were hanging on the racks. Sakura almost did a double-take.

"Um…could you leave the flamingo dress behind?" she asked meekly, not too fond of that dress.

"No problem," Tomoyo smiled. Grabbing a nearby pen, Sakura quickly scribbled the words "I accept" onto the letter before carefully returning it to its envelope and holding it out to the owl.

"Um, you can return this to your owner," she said. The owl grabbed the letter with its strong talons, flapped its wings to lift itself off the table, nearly knocking the bowl of water over in the process, and flew back out the window from whence it came as Sakura and Tomoyo watched its retreating back.

* * *

Leon stood over Bellatrix's grave, which held the body of the Death Eater that had been defeated so many years ago by Molly Weasley. Holding his staff over her grave, a blue magic circle appeared underneath his feet as he uttered a strange incantation as strange symbols spilled out from his staff and spiraled out until it surrounded him and Bellatrix's grave like a tornado. Leon then stepped back as he pointed his staff down where her coffin would be, uttering the final words. With an explosion, dirt blasted off the ground as dust covered the area. From the dust emerged a familiar woman, with thick black hair, long eyelashes, and heavily-hooded eyes.

"Miss Bellatrix Lestrange," Leon croaked. "Your master, Lord Voldemort, awaits you."


	3. A Moment of Fate

Ch. 3: A Moment of Fate

Bellatrix's long, slender fingers reached forward and, just as Voldemort did, wrapped themselves around the sorcerer's neck.

"Who are you?" she demanded ferociously; it was clear why she was Voldemort's most trusted servant, as she gave off a demanding presence. The witch remembered that last time, she was in the Great Hall fighting that mother of the blood traitors, Molly Weasley, before that bitch defeated her. Leon coughed and sputtered as Bellatrix choked the life out of him.

"W-well…madam…if y-y-y-you…" He took a gasp. "…w-w-would l-l-loosen your g-grip…" Another breath was taken before Leon continued, "…I would be h-h-happy to e-e-explain."

Bellatrix glared at him with distaste before letting go of his neck. Leon took in huge gulps of air, thankful to be able to breath properly again. He then performed a sweeping bow before her, the bangs of his black hair sweeping over his icy blue eyes as his long hair brushed over his shoulder.

"My name is Leon, and I am the sorcerer who has brought you and the Dark Lord back to the land of the living," he introduced, baring his pearly white teeth in a devilish grin. "And as long as I am alive, the two of you will remain alive, for the magic I have used to extract your souls from the dead is connected to me by magical threads. If I die, the threads become severed, and both you and the Dark Lord will return back to where you came from. But fear not—I have no reign over the two of you. My goal was simply to bring the two of you to life, and ask that I join your posse." This last line he said to Lord Voldemort, who had suddenly joined them.

Bellatrix's eyes welled up with tears when she saw her master. Voldemort looked whole again, as if Harry Potter had never destroyed the Horcruxes that held pieces of his soul. He looked eviler than ever, with one agenda on his mind: get revenge on Harry Potter.

"If that is what you wish," Voldemort said coldly in his high-pitched voice. "Now, leave! I must make preparations. My dear Bellatrix, let us announce our revival to the world!"

Bellatrix cackled as the skies above them ominously darkened before the two of them apparated away from the graveyard.

* * *

(skipping the goodbyes Sakura says to her family and Tomoyo and going straight to the part where she's already at Diagon Alley. A week has passed since she received the invitation)

"Waaahh, look at all the shops!" Sakura cried as she found herself standing in the middle of the cobblestone streets, looking down Diagon Alley. Before her was a large building, none other than Gringotts. Eriol, who was helping her navigate the wizarding world, or at least a part of it, smiled.

"Come, Sakura-san. We need to procure a wand for you."

Sakura looked at him curiously. "Can't I use my staff?" she asked.

Eriol shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Sakura-san. You see, we need to keep your magic a secret. We can't let the school know that you're the most powerful sorceress in the world, even stronger than me, and I'm the reincarnation of Clow Reed. Evil would want to get their hands on you if they learned about what kind of power you harness, understand?"

Sakura nodded slowly. She was disappointed about not being able to use her Sakura Cards at this new school. Eriol noticed her disappointment and added,

"You can still use them in the comforts of your own privacy. Just make sure no one is around when you do use them."

Sakura nodded. "I understand!"

The first place they went to was Gringotts to exchange Muggle currency for magical currency, where Eriol pointed out that even though Clow Reed did not attend Hogwarts, he did possess a vault there and left the contents to his future heir and master of the Clow Cards after he died, meaning that Sakura inherited quite a sum of money from the powerful late sorcerer. She was surprised by this, not expecting Clow Reed, who she met only a few times, to leave her with such a large fortune. As Clow Reed had been such a highly respected magician of his time and came from two of the most powerful magical bloodlines, his vault, Vault 150, ventured far deeper than any other vault. A spell had been placed on his vault so that only a certain key, one that his future heir would later come to possess upon opening the Clow Book for the first time, would open the vault. The door to his vault also had Sakura's magic circle imprinted on it, surprising her.

"Originally, the magic circle was Clow's," Eriol explained. "But he placed a spell on it so that it would match the new Master's or Mistress' powers."

"Oh, I see!" After inserting her Star key into the lock, Sakura satisfied herself with taking only a handful of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts, believing she didn't need to take much.

After making their withdrawal, they walked into Ollivander's Wand Shop, where a man who looked to be about middle-aged was waiting for them.

"Ah, Miss Sakura Kinomoto, I have been waiting for you," he said as his eyes twinkled. "My name is Jefferson Ollivander, and I have taken over this shop from my father, Garrick Ollivander, who sadly retired. The great former wandmaker had taught me everything I needed to know. We kept the shop name due to the nostalgia and respect it holds." The man before them meant retire not in the sense of giving up a job post, but rather that Ollivander had passed away some time ago. After all, the former wandmaker was of old age, so it wasn't long before he would succumb to a natural death, 24 years after Voldemort's downfall. Plus his time down in the dungeons in the Malfoy Manor in 1997 had caused damage to his health anyway.

Sakura blinked. He has?

"Hoe? You have?" she asked, tilting her head to one side like a lost and confused puppy.

"Yes," Jefferson answered. "Now, let's get you a wand, shall we? Wait here, please." He turned around and walked over to a shelf. Briefing scanning it, he then pulled out a long, rectangular box and brought it to the front table. Lifting the lid, he revealed a medium-length black wand.

"Hawthorne. Thirteen and three-quarters. Dragon heartstring. Reasonably stable," Jefferson said, noting the wand's wood, length, core, and characteristics. He gently held the wand out for the Card Mistress to try.

Sakura gingerly took the wand into her hands and stared at it. What was she supposed to do with it?

As if he had read her thoughts, Jefferson encouraged, "Give it a little wave."

Sakura nodded. Lifting the wand up with her dominant hand, she gave the wand a little wave, and soon regretted her actions. A light bulb shattered as the magic that came out of the wand went wild. Clearly, it was not compatible with the sorceress.

"Oh dear, let's try another one." He took the wand from Sakura and put it back into its box before returning it to the shelf. Taking out another box, he presented Sakura with another wand.

"This one is rosewood, eleven and a half inches, with a core of unicorn hair. A rather springy wand."

Just like with the last wand, Sakura waved the new wand around. It was a bit better than the last one in that nothing exploded, but it did suddenly seem to hop out of her hands. Jefferson sighed as he quickly retrieved the "runaway" wand.

"That's not for you either, I'm sorry," the wandmaker said. He put the wand and its box back onto the shelf before scanning the rows and rows of wands on each and every shelf. Which one would be compatible with this one? His eyes fell on a particular box on the highest shelf, completely out of reach without a ladder or Levitating Charm. _Could it be? This was the very first wand I created as part of my apprenticeship with father before his passing and before I took over as owner of this shop. In my six years of being here, I have never tested that wand on anyone before due to the strong power it wields. _

Jefferson used a Levitating Charm to bring the box down to him before taking it to the front desk, where Sakura looked like she was losing hope at being able to get a wand.

"Miss Kinomoto, let's see if this one is compatible with you. It is made of cherry, phoenix feather, and twelve inches. It is a strong and powerful wand. You are the first customer that I have presented this wand to, and I hope that you are able to control it." He held the wand out to the young girl.

Sakura stared at the wand being presented before her, feeling incredulous. She was being presented with a powerful wand, her, of all people! She didn't know what to do. What if the wand wasn't compatible with her like the other two wands? She might as well destroy the place. Slowly, with shaking fingers, she reached out and enclosed her fingers around the wand's handles as she took it from Jefferson's hands. Holding it out at arm's length, as if it was a putrid thing that she was holding, she looked away and winced as she gave it a wave, expecting explosions to suddenly come or for the wand to "leap" out of her hand like the last one did. But nothing happened. A small gasp could be heard. Sakura opened one eye to take a peek as she turned to face the wand and gasped when she saw the sight before her…no, around her. A magic circle had appeared underneath her feet, as if she was going to release her Star Key and turn it into a staff, or was going to summon a Sakura Card, but she wasn't about to do any of that. Plus, this magic circle was light blue in color, and it seemed like steady streams of the light blue magic from the circle beneath her feet were shooting up. In her hand, the wand was glowing a bright and steady pink. It had found its master. The magic circle underneath Sakura faded, as so did the pink light from the wand. Jefferson beamed at her.

"So the wand is compatible with you, then! I'm glad. That was the very first wand I created during my apprenticeship with Ollivander before his passing, and it was a feisty one. I'm glad it found its master."

"I have a question," Eriol spoke, reminding everyone he was still there. "I thought that there were only two wands with a phoenix feather…or well, one, since one of the wands that used to possess a phoenix feather is no more."

Jefferson smiled. "You are correct in that there used to be only two wands with a phoenix feather. Harry Potter's and Voldemort's, who is gladly no longer alive." Jefferson was not afraid to say Voldemort's name, for the evil wizard was dead, defeated by Harry Potter during the Second Battle of Hogwarts. "You are also correct that one of those wands had been destroyed. However, those two wands came from a phoenix named Fawkes, who used to belong to a former Headmaster at Hogwarts. This feather came from a phoenix found in Asia during my trip there to study wandlore over there. I can see that this is compatible with you because you happen to possess Asian magic, the origin of this wand's core."

Sakura stared at the wand before her. "Wow…" she murmured. Her eyes lifted up to meet Jefferson's. "So how much do I owe you for the wand?" she asked.

"No payment is necessary," he said, just happy that the wand had found its companion.

"But…I really want to pay you," Sakura protested. "I wouldn't feel right walking out with such a delicate object without paying."

"Oh alright. 5 Galleons," Jefferson said. Sakura beamed and gave him 5 Galleons before exiting the shop with Eriol. Next, she had to purchase books and school robes. Once those were purchased, she and Eriol returned to the Muggle side of England. Now there was only two weeks left until September 1st, the day she was supposed to board a train to get to Hogwarts.

* * *

A/N: It was mentioned in Ollivander's backstory on Pottermore that he had one son and one deceased daughter (well, that's how I interpreted it since the word deceased was in parentheses after the word daughter). His son is unnamed, so I decided to give him a name. Jefferson from Once Upon a Time popped into my mind while I was trying to think of a name to give him.


	4. Amber Eyes

Ch. 4: Amber Eyes

"HOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

A cry shot out, causing flocks of birds that had been perching on the roof of Eriol's mansion for the night to become startled and fly away in fright. The cry came from the bedroom where Sakura Kinomoto was temporarily staying in, and as usual, she was racing around the room, rushing to get ready. Grabbing a fresh set of clothes and towel, she rushed into the bathroom, thankful that it was connected to her bedroom. She took a quick, hot shower before hopping back out and dressing quickly, wearing a floral sundress. Taking a look in the mirror, she wondered what she should do with her hair, which came down just three inches past her shoulder. Her hand grasped around the key around her neck as she whispered, "Release." The key elongated into a long pink staff with a hollow pink circle on top that had a five-pointed star in the middle of the hollow circle. A tiny wing was on either side of the circle. A red jewel separated the circle from the rod part of the staff. The wings on either side of the circle elongated as Sakura called out, "Mirror!"

She didn't need to say anything more; Mirror knew what Sakura wanted her to look like. She stepped out of the mirror assuming Sakura's form and smiled. "What do you want, Mistress?"

Sakura smiled. "I told you, call me Sakura. Mistress makes me sound so old! Anyway, can you help me with my hair? I want to have waterfall braids, but I can't see the back of my head. Eriol-kun doesn't have three-way mirrors. But please hurry—I'm already late as it is!"

Mirror giggled. "Of course, Sakura-chan." Sakura sat down and let Mirror work on her hair. A short while later, Mirror was done.

Sakura beamed. "Thank you, Mirror!"

"No problem, Sakura-chan," Mirror said before reverting back into her card form. Sakura then grabbed a curly iron and curled the ends of her hair to form soft, medium-sized ringlets. She didn't know why she was doing this—she was about to hop on a train to Hogwarts, after all. Maybe it was because she wanted to leave a good impression on her new classmates. Her eyes glanced at the clock as she put a cherry blossom hairclip, the same one that Yukito got her when she first went to Hong Kong, on the side of her head. 10:45. She had only 15 minutes left to get to the train station, and she didn't know where it was. "HOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she shrieked again as she turned off and unplugged her curling iron, grabbed her bag and suitcase with her new school supplies, and rushed out of her room. Eriol was waiting for her at the front door, smirking.

"Late again, Sakura-san?"

"Not now, Eriol-kun!" Sakura protested. "I need to get to the train station now! I only have 15 minutes left!"

Eriol chuckled. "Don't worry, I can transport you over there."

"But…wouldn't it be weird if we suddenly appeared out of nowhere? That's gonna frighten people!"

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. We're going to transport to the part of the train station that's only accessible to magical people. Non-magical folks can't see us there and don't have access, I believe."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was going to be alright, then! "Thanks, Eriol-kun," she said.

"Before you go, I'm going to cast a spell on you so that you can speak and understand English fluently," Eriol said. Sakura nodded and closed her eyes as Eriol casted a spell over her. Sakura opened her eyes again after Eriol told her she could open them again and looked confused. She didn't feel any different.

"Sakura. Can you understand me?" Eriol asked in perfect English.

"Yes," Sakura said, surprised when she spoke English with little trace of a strong Japanese accent.

"Perfect. Now let's get you over there," Eriol said, reverting back to Sakura's native language. A magic circle appeared underneath Sakura's feet as he uttered an incantation. Balls of light engulfed Sakura and when they died, Sakura was no longer standing before him.

"Wow…" Sakura drew in a deep breath in awe as she looked around. In front of her was the Hogwarts Express, waiting to take magical children to the infamous wizarding school in all of Great Britain. She saw people walking past her, armed with their luggage and some also with cages carrying their magical pets with them. Taking a deep breath, she walked up to the train. A stewardess took her suitcase, leaving Sakura with just her bag that contained her Sakura Cards, her wand (after all, her dress was pocketless), and small personal items for good measure. The Card Mistress stepped onto the train and began searching for a compartment to sit in.

* * *

"Ready for another year, Li?" Scorpius asked the brown-haired, amber-eyed boy sitting next to him who was wearing a charcoal gray knitted V-neck jumper that had silver and green linings on the cuffs and bottom of his shirt over a buttoned white shirt, charcoal gray trousers, and socks of a similar color. On his feet were plain black shoes. Tucked under his jumper was a silver and green tie. "Honestly, you still amaze me. How did they accept you so late into Hogwarts? I mean, you were thirteen or something when you first came, and rather late in the year, I might add. I think it was after Christmas break when you came."

"I'm still wondering about that myself. I bet my mother pulled some strings or something. We do come from a powerful family, after all."

"Hey Scorpius, Hey Li, mind if we join you?" Rose asked as she drew the compartment door open. Behind her was her brother Hugo and her cousins Albus, who everyone simply called Al, and Lily. Al and Lily's other brother, James, was in a different compartment with his friends. They were all wearing similar uniforms to Scorpius and the boy he called Li, only Al and Lily's had gold and red trims on the cuffs and waist, Rose's was blue and bronze, and Hugo's was black and yellow, and the ties they wore were similar to their cuff and waist colors.

Scorpius grumbled. "If you want."

"Great!" Rose said as she, her brother, and her cousins filed in and sat down. Not long after they settled down, the compartment door opened again as a brown-haired girl meekly peeked in.

"Um…sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if I could sit here. All the compartments look full already, and…" Sakura stammered, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment that she was still stumbling around, looking for a place to sit.

"Sakura?"

Sakura snapped her head up. That voice…it can't be… But it was true. Staring back at her was a pair of amber eyes that belonged to a familiar face, to a familiar boy with his messy brown hair. He was as surprised as she was.

"S…Syaoran…kun?" she asked, incredulous. Then suddenly without warning, Syaoran shot up from his seat and raced over to her, embracing her in a hug that Sakura happily returned, shocking his friends.

"Ohhh, so this is the girl you were telling us about," Hugo smirked from behind. "The only one you said that you would allow to call you by your first name besides your family."

Annoyed, Syaoran turned his head to glare at the Hufflepuff while Sakura blushed visibly. "Oh shut up, badger!" He turned back to face Sakura. "Sakura…how?"

"I could be asking you the same thing," Sakura said, tears forming in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me? Except for summer and winter, I didn't get any messages from you for the past two years. I was worried something might have happened to you."

Syaoran gently wiped the tears away from her eyes and smiled back. "I'm sorry Sakura, but the only form of communication at Hogwarts is through owls. Devices like cell phones and computers don't work, and I doubt you or your brother would want to be surprised by owls constantly attacking your home with letters from me. That's why I waited until winter and summer, when I returned home to Hong Kong for breaks, to write you and call you. But anyway, how are you here?"

Sakura grinned. "I got a letter saying that I was accepted under a new policy they were testing. They said it was the first time they were allowing students from outside Britain to attend. But Syaoran-kun, how is it that you're here already?"

"Well, uhh…my mother pulled some strings. You know how the Li Clan is," Syaoran said. "But you know Sakura, you'd only have this year and next before your time at Hogwarts ends. Since you're 15, you'd be entering your fifth year, and students graduate from Hogwarts once their seventh year ends. Fifth year students also have to sit the O.W.L-"

"Don't remind me," Al groaned.

Syaoran ignored him and continued, "But since this will be your first year at Hogwarts and you're a transfer, I think the professors will grant you exemption from the exams."

"Hoeee, really? Then I won't know as much as you do! By the way, when did you first come here?"

"Since I was thirteen. I'm a Fifth Year like you, so we'll be in the same classes."

"Really? Yay!"

"Hey, I don't mean to break you two lovebirds up, but sit down already!" Al said. Sakura and Syaoran jumped apart, their faces red in embarrassment.

"Alright alright," Syaoran said as he sat down, Sakura sitting down next to him. He then leaned over to his cherry blossom and whispered in Japanese, "You look adorable, by the way."

Sakura blushed and looked down at her hands resting on her lap. "Arigatou." They then sat back and enjoyed the train ride to Hogwarts.


	5. So Close, Yet So Far Apart

A/N: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP and Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. Now let's get on with the chapter!

* * *

Ch. 5: So Close, Yet So Far Apart

Sakura and Syaoran had fallen asleep during the train ride, despite it being daylight, with Sakura's head resting on her beloved's shoulder and Syaoran resting his head on top of her's, his arms wrapped tightly around the Card Mistress in a soft embrace. In their sleep, they were oblivious to everything.

"There really should be a couples compartment, for lovebirds to sit in," Lily whispered to Rose, the two cooing over Syaoran and Sakura's innocent display of affection for one another. Rose nodded in agreement.

"Hey, we're here!" Al shouted as he peered out the window and saw the carriages and Hagrid waiting.

Lily leaned over and poked Sakura and Syaoran. "Hey…hey wake up. We're here."

"Leave me alone," Syaoran grumbled while Sakura snuggled closer, both of them still asleep.

The wizards and witches they were sharing a compartment with all looked at each other, silently agreeing on something. Since they were now at Hogwarts, or close to Hogwarts, they figured that they could use their magic again. All five of them withdrew their wands and pointed it directly at the sorcerers, though they did not know this—they assumed Syaoran was a wizard and Sakura was a witch like them.

"Aguamenti," they said in unison. A jet of water streamed forth from their wands and splashed Syaoran and Sakura, who suddenly snapped their eyes open from the cold intrusion.

"HOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Sakura yelped as she drew away from Syaoran, wondering when she had fallen asleep on him. Syaoran had also drawn away from her, both their faces red as their hair and clothes dripped with water, making them look like a pair of wet kittens. Syaoran glared up at the five before him and shouted,

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

"We've arrived and you two wouldn't wake up, so we had to resort to that. It was either that or slapping the two of you silly," Al said with a shrug. "Now come on! Sakura, can't wait to see what house you'll be placed in!"

Sakura looked at Syaoran quizzically. "House?"

"You'll see," Syaoran said as he stood up. "Come on."

They got off the train and went to collect their luggage. At the front of the train, a rather large man was shouting, "FIRST YERS, COME WITH ME!"

"Who's that?" Sakura asked, glancing over her shoulder. He was larger than any man she had ever seen.

"Oh, that's Hagrid. He teaches Care for Magical Creatures," Rose said. She wrinkled her nose. "Nice guy, but I hate the class. Luckily the class becomes optional after our fifth year.

"OWLs are similar to those high school examinations you take in Japan to gain entry into the high school you want," Syaoran explained, familiar with how the school system in Japan worked despite moving back to China after Sakura captured the Void, now called the Hope after it had joined with Sakura's nameless card. Sakura nodded to express her understanding. She then looked around.

"So…if first years go with Hagrid-sensei…how do we get to Hogwarts?"

"Sensei?" Scorpius asked, not understanding.

"Oh…right, sorry. Old habit," Sakura apologized. "In Japan, we attach the suffix –sensei when we address our teachers. What do you guys call your teachers?"

"Professor," Syaoran said. "Anyway, we ride carriages to Hogwarts. Oh and just so you know…they're pulled by invisible beings. They're not ghosts, so don't be scared."

Sakura nodded, glad that Syaoran explained it to her so that she wouldn't find out for herself later and be frightened.

"Unfortunately, there are ghosts inside the castle," Hugo said.

"Hooooeeeee!"

Soon they arrived at Hogwarts. Sakura gasped in awe at the huge and majestic castle before her. It was dark now, and she could see boats and lanterns on the water as the first years arrived. So this was where she would live for the rest of the year. She felt someone nudge her and turned to see Syaoran, his eyes indicating for her to get a move on. She nodded back and continued on. Once they were inside, Syaoran turned and faced her.

"Sakura, since you need to be sorted, stay out here with the First Years. You can't sit down yet without being sorted. I'll be cheering for you, no matter what house you get into."

Sakura smiled. "Hai!" Around Syaoran, she felt comfortable speaking in Japanese, even if Eriol told her to only speak English at Hogwarts.

Syaoran touched noses with her before drawing away. "See you later." He turned and disappeared behind the large double doors. Sakura waved at his retreating back, then turned around to see that the first years had caught up, along with a man.

"Ah, the transfer student is here," he said. "Now everyone, here's how the sorting will work…"

Inside the Great Hall, Syaoran and Scorpius went to sit at the Slytherin table, Al and Lily sat at the Gryffindor table next to their brother James, Rose went to Ravenclaw, and Hugo went to Hufflepuff.

"What house do you think Sakura will be in?" Scorpius asked Syaoran.

"I don't know…Hufflepuff's a good choice to her since she possesses the key qualities of a Hufflepuff, but who knows. Only the Sorting Hat will know. One thing's for sure—she's not a Slytherin. This house isn't for her."

"So that means even though you're finally with her again, you'll still be apart," Scorpius said. Syaoran nodded as the doors to the Great Hall opened and the first years, along with Sakura, walked in. At the far end of the Great Hall, which Sakura assumed was the front, was a long table at which the professors sat. A podium was in the middle, situated right in front of the table. A woman stood up from her place at the table and walked up to the podium. Her presence at the podium resulted in the chatter among the Great Hall to die down. The woman introduced herself to the new students as Headmistress Sprout before indicating to a person seated at the table.

"Since our previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professor has sadly retired, I would like to introduce you to our newest professor, Eriol Hiiragizawa. He is our youngest professor by far."

Sakura and Syaoran's eyes grew wide when they heard that familiar name. No…how? Sakura was the most shocked. He hadn't come with her on the train, and how could he not tell her this when she was temporarily staying over at his house?

At the Slytherin table, Syaoran balled his hands into tight fists. Him? Listen to this cocky asshole? No way in hell!

From the table, Eriol caught sight of Syaoran glaring at him and Sakura shooting him a "why?" kind of glance and smiled innocently back at them. _Sorry you two, but it would've ruined the surprise if I told you._

Sakura was so engrossed with wondering why Eriol was there and how he became the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that she did not realize that the Sorting ceremony had started until she heard her name being called.

"…Miss Kinomoto? MISS KINOMOTO!"

"Hoe? Oh…sorry," Sakura blushed as she felt all eyes staring at her. Her cheeks flushed red, she walked to the front of the room and sat down as a ratty hat was placed on top of her head. At that moment, she suddenly felt a dark presence in the room while the Sorting Hat rambled on about where it should put her. Sakura scanned the room, trying to locate the source of the dark presence. It seemed like Syaoran had sensed it as well, for he gave Sakura the same grave expression. Sakura wondered whether Eriol could sense it too, but as her back was facing him, she couldn't see his facial expression. Eriol must have sensed her distress, because he mentally sent her a message,_Sakura-san, I feel it too. But come back to your senses. You're being sorted. That matter can wait._

Sakura snapped out of her daze just in time to hear the Sorting Hat call out, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The Hufflepuff table cheered as Sakura got off the stool and joined them. The Hufflepuff table was two tables away from the Slytherin table, which disappointed Sakura because she couldn't sit near Syaoran. Oh well. Rules were meant to be broken, weren't they? She decided to wait until dinner to go and sit with him, even if others protested. Sakura waited patiently as the ceremony continued.

"Damian Roth."

Whispers erupted throughout the hall as a dark haired boy with dark eyes approached the hat, a smirk on his face. He looked about Sakura's age, which gave reason for the surprise. But Sakura, Syaoran, and Eriol could sense there was something wrong with him, based on the strong dark aura they felt from him. But the witches and wizards they were among could not sense this—after all, aura-sensing wasn't something they knew how to do by instinct. Clearing her throat, Professor Sprout replied,

"Ah…yes. I failed to mention that we have two more transfer students with us besides Miss Kinomoto. Mr. Roth is from Germany and will also be joining the Fifth Years."

From the way she spoke, it seemed as if she was in a daze. Sakura followed her gaze and saw that the Damian kid was staring back at her, his eyes in deep concentration. A gasp escaped her lips. He was using mind control on her! A gulp traveled down her throat. Just who was he? Damian broke his gaze and continued his march down the length of the hall until he made it to the hat. A smug look was on his face as the hat was placed on him.

_I bet you know who I am, after all, you're the Sorting Hat. You can see through my disguise, can't you? And answer back with your thoughts, stupid hat. I don't want these children to know just yet._

The Sorting Hat sputtered in surprise. _No way. You're supposed to be dead. Harry Potter defeated you!_

_And I was brought back from the dead, thanks to a lowly sorcerer. Now hurry up and put me in Slytherin where I obviously belong._

"SLYTHERIN!" the Sorting Hat shouted out. Except for Syaoran, the Slytherin table cheered as Damian smirked and walked over to his rightful table. He was later joined by his "sister", who was named Regina.

Earlier -

"You. Sorcerer." Voldemort zapped Leon with a lightning spell from his wand, causing the sorcerer to yelp and jump up with pain before kneeling before his new lord.

"My lord, what is it that you request?"

"Find Bellatrix and I a way to infiltrate Hogwart's castle." His request was short and blunt. Leon widened his eyes.

"My lord…are you planning an attack? Don't you think it is too early?" he whispered, but was suddenly met with a lashing to the face as Bellatrix angrily turned her wand into a whip and whipped him across the face, leaving a gash on one of his cheeks.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK BACK TO YOUR MASTER!" she roared.

"Patience now, Bellatrix," Voldemort said in his high-pitched, raspy voice. He narrowed his eyes at Leon. "You dare defy me?"

"I-I-I mean…wouldn't it be better to…I don't know…disguise yourself as a student and blend yourself in, then make yourself known when the time is right? After all, I also possess the power to make you age forward or backward and to alter your appearance."

"Do you now? Then, I request that you change Bellatrix and I to a fifteen year old's body, and alter our appearance so that we do not look like we did when we were fifteen. We don't want any of the professors to recognize us…do we?"

"N-n-no, not at all, my lord!" Leon summoned his staff and held it high above his head as he twirled it around. A magic circle appeared under his feet as well as under Voldemort's and Bellatrix's as he chanted a spell in Latin. Dark ribbons of energy surrounded the Dark Lord and his faithful Death Eater before dying away to reveal a sixteen year old boy and girl. The magic circle disappeared as Leon admired his work. Now Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix could enter Hogwarts unnoticed, without the other students suspecting a thing. Leon knew that witches and wizards were unable to detect auras like he could, so by the time they realized anything, it would be too late.

Present -

Once the sorting was all over, Sprout welcomed everyone back to Hogwarts and uttered a few words before allowing the students to start with dinner. Sakura jumped up from the Hufflepuff table and raced over to the Slytherin table, easily finding Syaoran's green aura. Scorpius smirked as he scooted closer to Syaoran, earning an annoyed look from him.

"Sorry Kinomoto, can't let you two lovebirds spoil our dinner with your kissing. Besides, you're supposed to stay at the Hufflepuff table anyway."

Sakura grinned at him. "Rules were meant to be broken, weren't they?"

Syaoran glared at Scorpius as he shoved him aside. "You're way too close to me for my comfort, Malfoy." He then gawked at Sakura. Who was she and what did she do with his innocent, rule-abiding cherry blossom? "Sakura?"

Sakura pressed her fingers together. "Sorry, but I wanted to sit with you tonight. Who knows when we're going to be able to sit together again? Don't worry, I won't be clingy like Meiling-chan." Syaoran shuddered, remembering how his cousin used to always cling to him back when their secret engagement was still on before Meiling called it off. Syaoran pushed Scorpius further away from him, almost causing the boy to fall backwards, to allow Sakura room to sit. Scorpius grumbled as Sakura sat between him and Syaoran.

"Just no lovebird business, okay?" he said as he grabbed a chicken leg and bit into it.

Sakura giggled, then got a piece of fried fish and placed it on her plate. While eating, she sent Syaoran a thought. _Did you sense that dark aura earlier from those two students?_

_Yeah. You also saw how one of them seemed to be manipulating the Headmistress, right? These aren't ordinary fifth years. In fact, mind control is an absolutely forbidden spell at Hogwarts. Just how did they get away with it without the professors detecting anything?_

_Probably because no spells were muttered or something. Ooh, the food is yummy!_

_I'm glad that the stuffed animal isn't here. He'd eat up all the food before everyone could know what was going on._

_Syaoran-kun!_

_What? You know it's true._

Sakura giggled as she broke her thoughts away from Syaoran's as she pierced a slice of mango with her fork and ate it.

"Kinomoto, have you tried the treacle tart and pumpkin juice yet? They're delicious," Scorpius asked, shoving his face full of treacle tarts, chicken, lamb chops, some greens, and pumpkin juice.

Sakura shook her head. "Not yet, but thanks for the suggestion!" She reached for a treacle tart and bit into it. "Waaa, oishii!" she cried, slipping into Japanese. Syaoran nudged her. "Oh, um, I mean, delicious!" Sakura repeated in English.

At the far end of the table, Damian and Regina ate their meals with contempt and silence. They only ate their meals in order not to draw attention to themselves, despite the fact that they weren't feeling very hungry and didn't enjoy being in a sixteen year old body. And since Damian was rather good-looking just like when he was a sixteen year old Tom Riddle so many years ago, the Slytherin girls couldn't help but nuzzle up to him, trying to get to know him.

"So you're from Germany? That's wicked!" a Slytherin named Brenda said.

"Is the Roth family a powerful pureblood family in Germany?"

Damian pounded his fists against the table and hissed at the girls who dared bother him, "BE QUIET, ALL OF YOU, AND LET ME EAT DINNER IN PEACE." As soon as he finished, he smirked when he saw the girls who had bothered him tremble and left him alone. _Ugh, teenagers. I had forgotten about this aspect of my life at Hogwarts as a young boy…silly girls trying to woo me, trying to get me to tutor them…I hated it all. And just what is that silly new Hufflepuff doing, sitting here at the noble Slytherin table?_

As Sakura and Syaoran ate their dinner, Eriol stepped down from the staff table and came over to them. The other students noticed this and were surprised when he stopped behind them and addressed them casually.

"Yo, Sakura, Li!" he greeted.

"Hi, Eriol-kun," Sakura greeted back, which also drawing gasps from people around her who heard and wondered why the new student was addressing their new teacher so informally. "How come you never told me this morning that you were going to be a professor here? Why did you send me to the train station all by myself if you were going to be here anyway?"

"Yeah, Hiiragizawa," Syaoran said, fuming. "Why didn't you tell us? No matter, I refuse to listen to you."

"Then you fail the class, my cute little descendant," Eriol beamed. "And for the question asked by my half-daughter, I wanted to surprise you. Looks like I was successful!"

Sakura and Syaoran sighed in unison. Sakura then asked, "So…what house are you in?"

"Ravenclaw," Eriol smiled. "Good luck here at Hogwarts." He then returned to the staff table.

"Cute little descendant? Half-daughter? What is Professor Hiiragizawa talking about? And how come you two addressed him so informally?" Scorpius asked once Eriol left.

Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other nervously. Oh dear. "Um, for the first two, it's a long story. And we're his friends, so that's why we addressed him informally. We know each other. He may look our age, but he's actually older than that," Sakura said cheerfully.

Scorpius nodded. "Alright, suit yourself. Say, are you going to try out for Quidditch?"

"Quidditch? What's that?" Sakura asked.

"A really fun game," Syaoran said. "Scorpius is the Seeker and I'm the Beater. My job is to protect our team from Bludgers and send them back to the opposing team."

"And my job is to find a tiny gold ball with wings that beat as fast as a hummingbird's and is near impossible to see once a game is in play. The Snitch is worth 150 points, so whoever captures the Snitch wins the game for their team," Scorpius explained.

"Sakura, your flying skills are amazing," Syaoran said. "You should try out for the Hufflepuff team. Since their Seeker and one of their Chasers graduated last year, you should try out for one of those positions."

Sakura nodded. "I'll think about it."

"Miss Kinomoto, please return to your place at the Hufflepuff table. Dinner is about to conclude," one of the professors sitting at the table said in an amused voice.

"That's Professor Longbottom. He's the Herbology professor," Syaoran explained as Sakura got up. "Mata ashita," he said, waving goodbye to her as she returned to her table. Sakura looked over her shoulder and happily waved back. "Mata ashita!" She didn't care if the others couldn't understand—she only wanted Syaoran to hear those words, and Syaoran felt the same way.

Regina couldn't help but laugh. Longbottom was a professor now? The Gryffindor boy whose parents she tortured to insanity? This school had surely lowered its standards!

The Head Boy and Girl of each Houses led the first years to their dormitory. Sakura followed closely behind Hugo and realized that the secret passageway to their dormitory was only a short distance away—they only had to go around to the kitchen corridor and find a stack of barrels. Hugo walked up to the barrels and tapped the second one from the bottom and in the middle of the second row to a specific rhythm. Sakura wondered what he was doing and nearly yelped when the lid opened unexpectedly and exposed a passageway.

"Come on, Sakura," Hugo said as he climbed in. Sakura followed him in and looked around in awe once she was in the Common Room with everyone. "Wow…it feels so comfortable in here!" Even though it was low-ceilinged, the Hufflepuff Common Room gave off a pleasant and earthy vibe. There were lots of yellow hangings, burnished copper, and overstuffed sofas and armchairs upholstered in yellow and black. The circular windows provided a vista of rippling grass and dandelions. Underneath a portrait of a beautiful woman was a large, honey-colored, wooden mantelpiece with carvings of badgers.

"That's the founder of our House, Helga Hufflepuff. Anyway, the tunnel to the girls' dormitory is over there," Hugo pointed. "Have fun unpacking."

"Thanks Hugo," Sakura said as she headed towards one of the round doors on the wall that Hugo pointed out. She went through another tunnel again before stepping into another room. There were four-poster beds, with copper lamps casting a warm glow over them. The beds were covered with patchwork quilts, and on the walls were copper bed warmers. Sakura noticed that a lot of the beds were already claimed and looked for an empty one. Once she found one, she set her suitcase down under her bed. The other students had brought trunks, and Sakura looked out of place with her Muggle suitcase. As she fell back on the bed, her head hitting the pillow, she sent a telepathic message over to Syaoran, wondering how he was doing.

_How are you doing?_

_Fine, I guess. That Damian kid is creeping me out, and unfortunately, he's in the same bedroom as Malfoy and I. I don't want to say much, just in case he can also read minds. Love ya, Sakura. See you tomorrow at breakfast._

_Yeah, see you tomorrow._

Sakura broke off her mental conversation with Syaoran and smiled. As long as they could talk to each other mentally, Sakura knew that everything would be fine.

Since there was nothing left to do after dinner, Syaoran decided to do some training. After all, even at Hogwarts, he had to keep his training up or risk being reprimanded from his mother. Grasping the pendant hanging around his neck, he held it out and closed his eyes, concentrating. In a flash, the pendant had turned into a double-edged sword. His sword gracefully flew through to the air while never being released from Syaoran's grasp as he assumed various stances, including new ones that he was expected to master. Silently, he wished that he could spar with someone, but these students didn't know anything about how to fight with a sword—they only knew how to fight with a wand. Besides, since he had trained ever since he was four, he could beat any of these students singlehandedly in a sword fight.

"Training again, Li?" Scorpius asked. "The Li Clan must be tough."

"Tough? That's an understatement," Syaoran said as he let his sword return to its pendant form.

"Well, despite that, you come from the most powerful magical family ever. I've done research on your family…over summer," Scorpius quickly added as Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "Not to mention that it's in one of the books regarding powerful magical families in my grandfather's study. Anyway, your family is more powerful than mine with a richer history. So why associate with Sakura Kinomoto? I get that she's not a Muggle-born, but why her?"

"Thank you for not saying Mudblood in front of me, and I don't know. Perhaps it's her kindness and willingness to believe in everyone, no matter how good or bad they are, that won me over. She puts everyone before herself. She's the kind of person who would recklessly do something to save her friends. She holds so much warmth and kindness in her heart. It's not in her nature to hate anyone at all. She gets annoyed sometimes, but she can never truly hate anyone. I bet those qualities were what placed her in Hufflepuff. And you're right about her not being a Muggle-born—her father is the reincarnation of a very powerful sor-wizard…and that wizard just happens to be my ancestor. I'm a direct descendant of that person." Since they hadn't learned about Clow Reed yet in History of Magic, Syaoran decided to not say names, or else it would be known that he and Sakura were in fact, sorcerers and not witches/wizards. "I'm not sure whether her mother possessed magical powers since her mother died when she was just three years old, but from what Sakura told me from her recollections of her family's stories about her, she was a beautiful model. By the way, even though she doesn't look like it, Sakura's rather powerful." _In fact, she's the most powerful sorceress at all. After all, she is the Card Mistress, and her power has grown so much that even Hiiragizawa says she is stronger than Clow Reed now._ "She doesn't know our magic yet since she's so used to Asian magic, but eventually she'll master the spells that we've learned." Sorcery and using the cards was not Asian magic, but Syaoran had to make up something. "Anyway, if you don't have anymore questions for me, I'm going to bed."

"Night, Li, even though I think it's too early to be going to bed."

"Night Malfoy," Syaoran grumbled as he pulled the blanket over his head. "You know, it's a good thing green's my favorite color, because honestly, the Slytherin Common Room gives me the creeps."

Scorpius chuckled before leaving the Clow Reed descendant alone.

Damian, who had been pretending to unpack in a corner of the room next to the bed he had claimed, had been silently eavesdropping on their conversation. A smirk appeared on his face as he thought, _Li Clan huh? Daughter of the reincarnation of a powerful wizard? Looks like I'm going to need to do a little digging on these two families._

A knock came at the door. Damian walked over and opened it to reveal his 'sister' Regina, her arms crossed while a wicked smile adorned her lips.

"Brother," she said. "May I speak to you in private?"

Damian followed Regina out of the dormitory and out of the Common Room into the dungeon, away from peering eyes and listening ears. Once they were out, Regina spoke,

"My Lord, how long before we attack? I can't stand being stuck in this horrid body." Unfortunately, since she was stuck in a 15 year old body, her voice came out as a shrill whine, similar to how bratty teenage girls sound when their parents wouldn't get them the newest phone.

"Patience, Bellatrix. We must plan this right. It seems Potter's children are all in Gryffindor as expected. I caught sight of them during dinner. How delightful—they'll be useful bait in exacting my revenge against Harry Potter. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to research a few…families," Damian said. "Let us return before we draw unnecessary attention to ourselves."


	6. Going to Classes

Ch. 6: Going to Classes

_"Sakura…Sakura…" An eerie voice whispered, sweeping over an empty field that was covered with a dense amount of fog. The sky overhead was completely covered in dark gray clouds, but no rain threatened to pour down. Walls and turrets were on either side of the field, and standing in the middle of said field was a young auburn-haired, emerald-eyed girl. She heard the voice calling out to her, but couldn't figure out who the voice belonged to. In fact, it was unfamiliar to her._

_"Who…are you?" Sakura called out into the darkness. She grabbed hold of the Star Key hanging around her neck and transformed it into her staff, then held it tightly to her body as she nervously looked around. "Hello? What do you want?"_

_"Sakura…" the same voice called out. Sakura tried to locate the source of the voice, but with all the thick fog, it was impossible to see anything. Suddenly the scenery changed and Sakura yelped in fear when she found herself standing in a cemetery. This was the one place she hated most of all, because cemeteries were where ghosts freely wandered. She noticed a cloaked figure standing near one of the gravestones and gulped, sensing that there was something dangerous about it. It must have sensed her presence, too, because it slowly turned around. Sakura wanted to run away, to hide behind a tombstone, but her feet refused to move. Her eyes widened when the figure fully faced her and she found herself staring back at red, bloodshot eyes. It raised its hand at her, brandishing a wand. A scream escaped her lips as she saw a flash of green…_

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sakura screamed as her eyes flew open and she shot up. She looked around the room, blinking, and noticed that several eyes were staring back at her with confusion. A dreadful feeling washed over her as she realized that she had dozed off in the middle of her History of Magic class. Professor Binns didn't seem to have noticed, because he continued to lecture on about magic in other countries. Syaoran gave her a concerned look from where he sat behind her. Leaning forward, he whispered, "You okay?"

"Yeah, it's probably just a dream," she whispered back.

"With you, dreams are never just dreams," Syaoran whispered, knowing all about how her dreams were prophetic. "Tell me about it later."

"Okay."

"Now a long, long time ago, there was a very powerful magician in all of Asia who was the first to figure out how to combine both western and eastern magic. His name was Clow Reed," Professor Binns droned on. Sakura and Syaoran perked up at that name in recognition. He was being taught in this class! "Little is known about Clow Reed, other than that he created a legendary deck of magical cards called the Clow Cards and later died. It is unknown whether he has any descendants."

Syaoran grumbled under his breath, "These people don't know anything. The Li Clan of China are his descendants. And Sakura here is the successor of Clow Reed and the Clow Cards, which no longer exist and are now Sakura Cards." Luckily, no one seemed to have heard him. Class ended then, and Professor Binns assigned them homework on writing half a scroll's worth on the history and life of Clow Reed. Syaoran rolled his eyes. This was going to be easy. He knew things about his ancestor that the textbooks didn't.

Their next class was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Eriol. The Clow Reed reincarnation smirked at Syaoran as he, Sakura, and the rest of the students walked into the classroom. He then turned to the rest of the class and asked, "Are we all here? Good. Today, we are going to learn something most of you have never learned before. We are going to learn how to detect auras."

A Gryffindor boy's hand shot into the air. "What's an aura?" he asked.

"That's a good question," Eriol said, smiling. "Is anyone here willing to answer this gentleman's question?"

Sakura's hand went up. "Yes Sakura?"

"An aura is a magical energy that surrounds an entire person. Each person has their own distinctive aura. You can tell whether someone is good or bad by their aura," she spoke.

Eriol smiled at her, proud of his half-daughter. "Very good, 10 points to Hufflepuff." The Hufflepuffs cheered and congratulated her in the back as Sakura smiled back at them. "Sakura is right—auras can tell a lot about a person. Sorcerers and sorceresses were the first to perfect aura detecting, and now, I'm going to teach you lot how to detect auras as well. In a life or death situation, being able to sense auras is extremely useful, because you can tell where your enemies are at all times, even in complete darkness. You can locate your friends with auras. You can tell whether someone is alive or dead—a dead perso's aura will completely disappear. If an aura is very faint, it means that they are still alive, but barely. For beginners like you, you won't be able to detect multiple auras at once, but eventually you'll master this and be able to do that. Now I'm going to call forth two students who I believe already know a thing or two about auras from their prior training in Asia. Miss Kinomoto, Mr. Li, please step forward and face each other."

Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other, then stepped forward, standing between Eriol and the rest of the class. They faced each other, and Sakura found herself staring back into warm amber eyes. She could feel his soft green aura mixing with her own pink one's, creating some kind of pinkish-green gradient where their auras mixed.

Al groaned. "Oh great, there they go making lovey-dovey eyes again. Professor Hiiragizawa, I don't think making them face each other was the best idea."

Eriol chuckled. "That's alright, Albus. Sakura, Li, please focus. Li, please tell the class what color you see Sakura's aura as."

"Pink," Syaoran said easily, smiling at the girl before him.

"And Sakura, the same for Li," Eriol said, turning to Sakura.

"Green," Sakura responded just as easily as Syaoran did.

"Very good. And class, you may not notice this, but their auras are mixing with each other. This is what happens when you are in love with someone—your auras mix with each other's," Eriol said, smirking. Sakura and Syaoran grew red in the face as they turned away from each other, their auras no longer mixed with each other's. "Alright, now I want you to all pair up with someone you've never met before and face each other. To detect auras, you must concentrate deeply on the person standing in front of you. Try to see magical energy surrounding that person, and once you can see the aura, tell that person what color you see their aura as. Sakura, Li, and I are very adept at seeing auras, so we can tell if any of you are making things up. They will be my assistants for this class." The class then paired up. Al paired up with a Ravenclaw, Rose paired up with a Gryffindor, and Scorpius found himself pairing up with Regina, while Damian reluctantly stood before a Hufflepuff. Many of the students had trouble detecting their partner's auras, and Sakura and Syaoran went around and either shook their heads if a pair guessed each other's aura color wrong or nodded their heads if a pair was correct.

Sakura stopped in front of Damian and the Hufflepuff he was paired with and asked, "Emily, what color is Damian's aura?"

Emily's eyes furrowed. "I don't know," she admitted. "This is hard. Um…yellow?" she asked. Sakura shook her head. "Wrong end of the spectrum. Try harder, okay? Damian, what color is Emily's?"

"Blue," he said flatly, not looking at her. Honestly, he had no idea what color this girl's aura was. For once in his life, Voldemort, in disguise, was stumped. He had never been taught what auras were or how to detect them—the wizarding world had never needed to detect auras before. He decided to make it a new goal of his to master this aura detecting, believing it would make him a much more formidable threat.

"Nope," Sakura said with a shake of her head. "Emily, Damian's aura is a deep purple, and Damian, Emily's aura is yellow." Truthfully, Damian's aura was black, but Sakura decided not to say that, because black auras meant someone was truly evil. She didn't want to scare anyone in the class. Eriol then broke the pairs up and spent the remaining part of class teaching them how to hide their auras from enemies, a useful skill when executing stealth attacks. Class soon ended, just in time for lunch. Everyone filed into the Great Hall for a hearty meal. This time, Sakura remained at the Hufflepuff table, sitting next to Hugo. Her eyes sparkled at the food before her.

"Wow, amazing! Who cooks all these food?" she asked.

"House elves," Kat, a fellow Hufflepuff sitting on Sakura's right, told her. "They're responsible for all these food we eat. They're so hardworking!"

Sakura smiled. "Oh really? I should find them and thank them one day. Itadakimasu!" she said before indulging herself on the food. As she took a tuna sushi from a plate, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Syaoran grinning at her.

"Since you invaded the Slytherin table yesterday, mind if I invade your table today?"

Brenda, a Hufflepuff sitting to the left of Sakura, smirked as she crossed her arms. "No way, Li, now march your Slytherin arse back to your own table. And unlike Malfoy, we're not going to cave in easily."

Sakura mouthed, "Sorry, Syaoran," with an apologetic look in her eyes as Syaoran smiled at her in understanding and went back to his own table. She looked at Hugo, sitting across from her. "So when exactly are Quidditch tryouts? Syaoran encouraged me to try out."

"Oh, it's next week," Hugo said. "There's a position open for Seeker and Chaser. Hope you make it in—I'm the Keeper for the team. We're kind of like the goalies of the Muggle world."

Lunch soon ended and it was time for Potions. Scorpius waved at the professor, recognizing him. Sakura blinked as she saw the professor. He looked just like Scorpius!

"Ah, I see we have a new student among us," he said curtly. "Professor Malfoy to you, and yes, Scorpius here is my son. There will be no dilly-dallying in this class. Dangerous things can happen here."

Draco had assumed the position of teaching Potions at Hogwarts just two years ago when he decided he wanted to return to Hogwarts, right after Slughorn had retired. He thought it was a miracle that Professor McGonagall, the Headmistress at the time before she retired, had allowed him the position. He taught in almost the same way that his old Potions teacher, Professor Snape, had taught him and his classmates so many years ago, but not being as harsh as Snape was. "Anyway, we will be making Amortentia today. I hate this silly potion but it's part of the curriculum for you lot, so I have to teach you how to brew it anyway. Now can anyone tell me why Amortentia is a powerful yet dangerous potion to use?"

Syaoran raised his hand. Even though he didn't know much about this potion, he could deduce its properties from its name.

"Yes, Mr. Li?"

"I believe that it's a powerful love potion that causes a powerful feeling of infatuation for whoever drinks it. It's dangerous because it creates fake feelings of love, because love is something that cannot be artificially made; it must come directly from the heart."

"Thank you, Mr. Li. 10 points to Slytherin," Draco said, happy to award the points to his own House. "Mr. Li is correct. Amortentia is a powerful love potion that causes the drinker to become strongly infatuated with the person or object they are infatuated with. The smell of Amortentia differs for everyone, and smells like whatever is attractive to a specific person." He withdrew a vial from with his robe sleeves and held it out for the class to see. The substance inside the vial had a mother-of-pearl sheen to it. "Get in line—I will allow you all to take a close look at this bottled Amortentia potion and get a whiff of its scent."

The students all lined up. Since Syaoran was first in line, he sniffed the Amortentia first. To him, it smelled of chocolate, peonies, and cherry blossoms—the first scent was of his favorite food, the second scent was that of his favorite flower, and the third scent reminded him of Sakura, for her name meant cherry blossom in Japanese. He stepped aside, letting the others smell. When it was Sakura's turn, she smelled like cherry blossoms, her father's cooking, and Syaoran's scent. She blushed, recognizing his scent as she walked away. Once everyone had taken a close look at what Amortentia was supposed to look like, they were assigned the task of creating their own Amortentia potion. Though Sakura had never made Potions before, she followed the directions written on the board in front of the classroom, also using her intuitive baking and cooking skills to make the correct measurements when measuring out ingredients. By the time class ended, a few students had failed to make Amortentia, but Sakura was among the students who had successfully managed to make Amortentia. Since Professor Malfoy did not want students to take the love potion with them, he instructed that they all turn in their finished Amortentia to the front of the room and then clean up. Syaoran helped Sakura clean up since she didn't know the cleaning spell yet, and vowed to teach her some spells during their free time later.


	7. Another Day at Hogwarts

Ch. 7: Another Day at Hogwarts

"Key that hides the power of the stars…" Wind swept up around a yellow magic circle with a large star design in the middle, a girl standing in the middle of it as she held her arms out in front of her, raising it slowly. "…Show your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under our contract. Release!" She brought her arms down again as her eyes opened. Wind picked up speed around the magic circle as magical energy surrounded both her and her Star Key, which was hovering between her outstretched hands in a transparent bubble. The Star Key spun wildly in mid-air before lengthening into her star staff. Grabbing it, Sakura twirled it in her fingers like a baton before the magic circle disappeared and Sakura found herself back in the hall of Hogwarts. It was in the middle of the night and she was breaking school rules by being out of bed, but this was the only time she could use the cards without anyone noticing. She wanted to create some new cards, but didn't know how to go about doing so. Just how did she create the Nameless anyway?

"You have to do it from your heart," a voice said behind her. Sakura turned around with a gasp, but was relieved when she saw it was only Eriol.

"Hoe? From my heart."

"That's right. In order to create a new card, you have to draw energy from your heart. That's what you're trying to do, right?" Eriol asked. "You also need to have an idea of what kind of card you want to create."

Sakura nodded. "Yes. I want to create the Heal Card, just in case anything goes wrong, you know? I know we have Madam Pomfrey, but I wouldn't want to go to her for every injury."

Eriol smiled as he stepped back. "Well, there's no stopping you. Remember what I said. I'll stick around just in case the other teachers wake up and find you here, and tell them that I requested an audience with you over private matters."

Sakura nodded. "Thanks, Eriol-kun." A magic circle appeared under her feet again as she concentrated on what she desired in a Heal Card: the ability to mend wounds, to fix broken limbs, to erase away injuries. Just as when she created the Nameless, the area around her turned green as streams of energy shot upwards towards a single point. Sakura could see that the energy was making something, and eventually, she saw a card being formed. The energy died down and the card flew into Sakura's waiting hands. On the card was a girl wearing a nurse's hat and uniform, her eyes closed and hands clasped together as if in prayer. Jumping in joy, she turned around to face Eriol and cried,

"I did it! I made my own card!"

"You're becoming stronger and stronger the more I see you, Sakura-san," Eriol said, smiling. "I'm proud of you. Now I think you ought to hurry back to bed before someone catches you."

Sakura nodded and hurried down the hallway back toward the kitchen corridor while Eriol headed for the Ravenclaw tower.

"HOOOEEEEEEEE!" Sakura cried out the next day as she realized that she woke up late and stumbled out of bed, making a huge racket as she struggled to quickly change out of her pajamas and into her school uniform. She was particularly glad that the Hufflepuff Common Room was on the ground floor and not on the upper floors as she ran outside towards the greenhouses, also thankful for her agility. When she got there, she realized she had no idea which greenhouse she was supposed to go to. As if he had heard her thoughts, Sakura heard Syaoran's voice speaking to her in her thoughts.

_Late again? We're in Greenhouse 3. Slip in and hide among the students in the back so no one notices. _

_Thanks, Syaoran-kun._

Sakura quietly entered Greenhouse 3 just as Professor Neville Longbottom finished lecturing on the dangers of Venomous Tentaculas and how the students could curse if one suddenly grabbed them during class.

"And 5 points from Miss Kinomoto for being late. Thought you could sneak in, could you?" Neville asked over the head of students, addressing a particular person in the back.

Sakura's cheeks flushed red as the students in front of her parted so that the professor could see her clearly. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again," she apologized.

"Alright, grab those earmuffs. We're going to be pulling mandrakes today," Neville instructed.

Sakura walked over to where Syaoran and asked, "Why do need earmuffs?"

"Um…just think of Meiling yelling into my ear, only ten times louder," he said as he put his own earmuff on. Sakura nodded and put hers on. She watched him carefully as he grabbed the base of the leaves of a plant and tugged upward. Suddenly, a muffled yet loud cry could be heard as Syaoran completely uprooted the Mandrake, revealing what looked like a very ugly baby-looking creature. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw this, but Syaoran calmly moved it to a bigger pot. As soon as it was placed into the bigger pot and covered up with dirt, the Mandrake's screams were gone. Syaoran looked at Sakura with eyes that told her to do the same as he did. Sakura turned to the pot In front of her and took a deep breath. Grabbing hold of the leaves, she gave a tug and pulled, looking away as soon as she heard a scream. She didn't want to look at the Mandrake creature. Quickly, she took it to the nearest pot and stuck it in, then covered it up with dirt. A sigh of relief escaped her mouth once that was over.

Later that day…

Syaoran sat on one of the branches of his favorite tree at Hogwarts while Sakura sat at the base of the tree below, her back resting against its trunk. He looked down, seeing the top of her brown head and smiled. His little cherry blossom looked so peaceful down there as she held a notepad in one hand and a pencil in the other, freely doodling away.

"What are you drawing?" he called down to her.

Sakura smiled as she raised her head to look at him. "Nothing important," she said. "Ne, Syaoran-kun…did I tell you? I made a new card yesterday!"

Syaoran almost fell off the branch when he heard that, but regained his balance. "You did? That's quite impressive. Which one?"

"The Heal," Sakura beamed, her radiant smile melting Syaoran's heart. "So I can treat my own injuries without having to go to Madam Pomfrey all the time."

"Well, you have to be careful using that around here," Syaoran warned. "You can't use it in front of anyone except Hiiragizawa and I."

Sakura nodded. "I understand. Hopefully I don't get into too much trouble here."

Syaoran smirked. "Sakura, what's the use in saying that? You're a trouble magnet."

Sakura pouted as she stood up and stomped her foot like a little kid. "No I'm not!" she disagreed stubbornly. Then returning to her former cheerful mood, she asked, "Do you think Tomoyo-chan would be surprised if an owl suddenly visited her house?"

"I don't think so, why? Are you going to write a letter to her?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura nodded. "Un!"

It was always like this. Outside of class, Sakura and Syaoran would communicate to each other in Japanese so no one else could understand what they were saying, especially if they were discussing Sakura's cards. It wasn't necessary to put the two of them in danger because they were different from the rest of the students. The other students still had not made a connection that Syaoran was directly related to Clow Reed, even though they had learned about him in History of Magic. Perhaps it was because the wizarding world knew so little about the magician, whereas he and his family had infinite knowledge on who Clow Reed was, and Sakura knew about him from her occasional encounters with him and from Kero's tales about his former master and creator.

Sakura and Syaoran quickly became Hogwart's favorite couple. By now, the Slytherins, with the exception of Damian and Regina, were used to Sakura joining Syaoran at meals and the Hufflepuffs now allowed Syaoran to join them, both houses knowing that they couldn't be apart from each other, as if an invisible rope constantly held them together. Plus, they were incredibly adorable together. However, Syaoran and Sakura refused to kiss each other in front of others, something the female population of Hogwarts desperately wanted to see. Their public affection for each other only went as far as holding hands and looking lovingly into each other's eyes. And even though everyone knew they were a couple now, the two refused to say "I love you" in front of others, preferring to say it only when they were alone and away from eavesdropping ears.

A week eventually passed, and the day of Quidditch tryouts soon came. Sakura stood on the Quidditch field for Hufflepuff tryouts while Syaoran sat in the stands to provide encouragement and support. The Hufflepuff captain, a seventh year named Jasmine, quickly explained the rules of Quidditch to those trying out for the team, then started off with tryouts for the Chaser position. A boy named Ryan got that position, and then it was time for tryouts for the Seeker position. Sakura was the third in line, and she waited while the other two took their time in trying to locate the Snitch. Finally, it was her turn. Getting on the broom, she kicked off and rose, easily maintaining her balance. From there, she closed her eyes and concentrated. Even a tiny object like a Snitch could give off a magical aura. Her eyes snapped open as her aura honed in on the Snitch's aura. There it was! Without a moment's hesitation, she swung her other leg over to the other side of her broom so that now both legs were on one side of the broom, allowing her easy movement as she grabbed the Snitch that was directly above her head. With her other hand, she leaned her body down to coax the broom to go back down to the ground. Once she was 2 ft above the ground, Sakura wasted no time and jumped off the broom, grabbing hold of its handle as she did so and walked back to where the rest of the team stood.

"Congrats, Sakura," Jasmine said, smiling. "You're our new Seeker. That's the fastest anyone's ever caught a Snitch. I trust that you'll lead Hufflepuff to victory in all our matches."

Sakura grinned. "I promise!" She looked over to Syaoran in the stands and shouted, "SYAORAN, I DID IT!"

"I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT! BUT REMEMBER, IF OUR HOUSES EVER GO UP AGAINST EACH OTHER'S, I'M NOT GOING TO LET MALFOY GO EASY ON YOU."

"AND I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO GO EASY ON ME EITHER AND SAVE ME FROM BLUDGERS," Sakura shouted back, grinning like crazy as she waved. Since they were far apart, screaming at the top of the lungs was the only way they could hear each other.

And that's the way it was—whenever the Hufflepuffs went up against the Slytherins, Sakura and Syaoran put on a competitive edge. With her keen sense in detecting auras, Sakura was constantly able to locate a Snitch faster than the other teams, although on occasions, the Snitch was closer to the opposing team's Seeker and they caught it before she did. There were also a few times when Scorpius would catch the Snitch before she did, being the faster of the two when it came to flying on a broom (even though Sakura had experience flying, flying on her staff or with wings on her back was still different from flying with a broom), and Sakura would heartily congratulate Syaoran and his team for a good game.

Before they knew it, Christmas break was approaching and it was time to think about whether they wanted to remain at Hogwarts over the break or go home.

"Sakura, Li, why don't you two come home with us and meet our parents?" Lily asked one day as she and her brother approached the two.

Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other with an uncertain look. They had been planning on going home to Japan to visit some old friends.

_Do you think you can create another card, like the Teleport? I'm pretty sure the Ministry of Magic won't know if you use a Sakura Card as transportation. Then we can get to Japan in no time. _

_Hmm, probably. I need to be completely alone, though, in order to do that. _

Breaking their thoughts, they both turned back to face Lily and Al, who were still waiting for a reply. "Sure," Sakura said, smiling. "We can't stay long, though. We're planning on visiting friends back home."

"Oh goody," Lily beamed. "My parents would absolutely love to meet you two."

"Drop by and visit us too, alright?" Scorpius added, coming up behind Lily.

Syaoran nodded. "Sure."


	8. Home for the Holidays

Ch. 8: Home for the Holidays

Once their friends had left them, Syaoran turned to Sakura. "Come on, I know a place where you can use your magic without anyone seeing. That is, if you don't mind breaking the rules and can handle a little danger."

Sakura tilted her head to one side. "Hoe? Syaoran, what do you mean?"

She soon found out what Syaoran was talking about as he led over to the edge of a forest near Hagrid's cabin.

The Forbidden Forest.

The very forest that Sprout had warned the students to never step near.

Fear gripped Sakura's heart as she instantly clung to Syaoran's arm. "Syaoran-kun, what are you doing? This place is forbidden, and it's dangerous!"

Syaoran looked down at her shaking form and soothingly put one arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry, Sakura, I'm here. But anyway, we're not going to go deep into the forest. We're just going to stay on the outskirts of it. Besides…" He took a quick look around before diverting his attention back to Sakura, "We're alone now."

Sakura looked around and noticed there wasn't anyone else around but them. She closed her eyes and tried to sense if anyone might be hiding, but there was nothing nearby. The closest aura she could sense was far off. Opening her eyes again, she nodded, eyes filled with determination. Holding the Star Key out in front of her, she commanded, "Key that holds the power of the stars, reveal your true form before me! I, Sakura, command you under our contract. Release!" and turned it into a staff. Sakura then waved the staff in her hand as she chanted, the words coming easily to her lips,

"By the power of the stars, I, Sakura, command thee, create a new card before me! Teleport!"

Just like a few months ago when she first made the Heal Card, the area around her glowed a soft shade of green as the energy shot up and concentrated on a single point, while Sakura concentrated hard on making a new Sakura Card. Finally, it was complete. The new card floated over to Sakura's hand and she looked at it. On the bottom was the word The Teleport, and in the blank space where the picture was was something that looked like swirls. Apparently, the Teleport didn't have a human or animal-like form. She held the new card up for Syaoran to see, grinning.

"I did it!"

Syaoran grinned back at her and nodded. "Yeah. Now, let's get back before we really get into trouble."

Sakura nodded. "Un!"

As they made their way across the large grassy area back towards the castle, they were unaware that someone had been watching them, someone who had finally understood auras and how to mask his own. His dark eyes flashed maliciously as he stepped out from behind a tree a good distance away from where Sakura and Syaoran had just been, an evil smile adorning his face.

"So, that's their little secret," he said dangerously in a low voice. "It seems that we have a little sorceress in our hands, and not just any sorceress…the keeper of the infamous Clow Cards." He wasn't stupid; even though he pretended not to care, learning about Clow Reed in History of Magic intrigued him, for this magician was never covered when he attended Hogwarts as Tom Riddle many decades ago. Everything clicked into place for him once he had discovered their little secret. He remembered the day of the sorting, when one of the professors approached the two and treated them like old friends. How he heard, out of earshot despite sitting near the end of the table and far away from the two, Eriol calling Sakura his half-daughter and Syaoran his "cute little descendant". How the boy was able to write a more detailed essay on Clow Reed when it was assigned. The Japanese girl was the daughter of Clow Reed and the current keeper of the cards, the Chinese boy was his descendant, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was Clow Reed himself, reborn into another body and retaining memories of his former life. But one thing still baffled him—why did the professor call the girl his "half-daughter"? Was there something missing to the story? Even though his intuitions were largely correct, Damian didn't know, though, that the Clow Cards no longer existed, that Sakura had converted them all to Sakura Cards. The textbook had no pictures of what the Clow Cards looked like. Slowly, his resolve changed. No longer did he plan on exacting his revenge on Harry Potter. Rather, he would try to either win the girl over to his side, or kill her. He had read about how powerful the cards were and how powerful the keeper of the cards had to be in order to call upon the strength of the cards, how Clow Reed drew a lot of energy into making the Clow Cards. Even if the textbook didn't detail Clow Reed's life, it did give considerable information about the vast amount of energy and magic required to create new cards. And after witnessing Sakura's creation of a new card, he knew that despite how weak she looked, she was more powerful than she seemed, and a considerable threat to him, even more than Harry Potter himself.

A few weeks passed since Sakura first created the Teleport, and before anyone knew it, Christmas break had come. Remembering their promises, Sakura and Syaoran decided to first visit Al and Lily's family, along with Rose and Hugo's since they were related to the Potters. Sakura met their brother James for the first time on the train ride home when he chose to sit with his siblings—since she wasn't in Gryffindor and was a year younger and therefore not in the same classes as James, it was understandable why she didn't know him.

"Who would've ever thought a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff would be together?" James said in wonder as Syaoran and Sakura simultaneously turned red in the face and blushed. "So Li, I heard you were a genius in Potions and that Professor Malfoy has taken a liking to you. I've also heard that you were quite good at Potions, too, Sakura, even though it's your first year here."

Sakura smiled. "Thanks. It's so hard though! Luckily Syaoran helped me out with the more difficult potions."

"You're doing well during your first year here, Sakura," Syaoran complimented. "I think Charms is easily becoming your best subject, at the speed you're catching up on with learning the spells that were covered in past years. Next time, I'll teach you how to conjure a Patronus. Doubt you'd ever need to since there's a very low chance we'll ever encounter dementors, but I'll teach you anyway. Better be safe than sorry."

Sakura nodded happily. "Okay!"

Though the ride home was long, they finally arrived back at King's Cross Station at night. When they stepped off, Al, Lily, and James ran over to a couple—a woman with striking red hair and a man who looked like the older version of Al, only with glasses. Meanwhile, Rose and Hugo ran over to a woman with curly brown hair and a man with red hair.

"Glad to see you kids. How was school?" the red-haired woman asked.

Lily grinned. "Great. By the way, mum, dad, I want you to meet Syaoran Li and Sakura Kinomoto…Hogwart's number one favorite couple of the year. Sakura's a new transfer student based on something the professors are testing out, and Li came here two years ago under powerful persuasion from his family." She sent a smirk over to the brown-headed couple as they both turned beet red, their eyes widening.

"LILY!" they screeched, unable to hide their blushing.

"See, told you," Lily said with pride.

"No one ever expected…" Rose began.

"…that Syaoran Li…" Hugo continued.

"…a Slytherin who has turned down the attention of every girl in the school…" Lily smirked.

"…actually loved someone else…" Al chimed in.

"…a childhood friend who ended up in Hufflepuff…" Rose sighed.

"…it's like a modern version of Beauty and the Beast," Lily said dreamingly. "Only Li isn't a furry creature. At every meal, Sakura would either sit with Li at the Slytherin table or Li would sit with Sakura at the Hufflepuff table. It's so cute!"

Sakura and Syaoran's faces turned more and more redder by the second. Syaoran shouted out, "SHUT UP!" as Sakura turned her face in a poor attempt to hide her blushing face while good-hearted laughter broke out around them. When they calmed down and were sure their faces weren't red anymore, they directed their attention to Lily's, Al's, and James' parents and introduced themselves.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Potter," they said in unison. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Hello, I'm Harry Potter and this is my wife, Ginny," the man introduced.

"And I'm Ginny's brother, Ron Weasley, and this is my wife, Hermione," the red-haired man introduced. "We're Rose and Hugo's parents."

"Nice to meet you," Sakura said happily.

"Mum, dad, if you don't mind, I invited them over for dinner," Lily said.

Harry shook his head. "Not a problem at all. Teddy's going to join us as well once he gets off work."

"Well then, let's not dillydally around any longer, hmm?" Hermione said. "Come along, kids."

"So we're heading to the Burrow?" Hugo asked.

"No, we're going to Harry's house. Your grandmother and grandfather are waiting for us there," Ron said. "Take our hands, kids." Rose and Hugo took Hermione and Ron's hands and they apparated away. Now there was only Harry, Ginny, Lily, James, Albus, Sakura, and Syaoran left.

"Sakura and I can find our way there," Syaoran said as the three Potter kids grabbed their parents' hands. "We've learned our own method of transportation over in Japan's magic school before we transferred over." It was a blatant lie, but how else would they explain it? They couldn't say "Oh Sakura is the Card Mistress and she can teleport around with the Teleport Card"—even though the Potters and Weasleys seemed like nice people, they couldn't trust anyone.

Harry nodded. "Alright, I'll see you two later. We'll be waiting for you outside." He, Ginny, and their kids apparated, leaving Sakura and Syaoran alone with each other. Syaoran turned to Sakura with a look of resolve on his face.

"Ready?"

Sakura nodded. She summoned her staff then threw a card into the air. "Teleport Card, take us to the Potters' home!" she shouted, the wings on the sides of the circle at the top of the staff growing bigger as Sakura pointed her staff at the card that was hovering in the air. Balls of pink link surrounded Sakura and Syaoran and engulfed them completely, then faded away. They reappeared out on a street facing a few houses; a few houses down, they saw Harry waving at them to come over. Sakura quickly transformed her staff back into a key as she ducked behind a nearby tree so that Harry wouldn't see the magic circle appear under her feet, then stepped back out again and together they walked over to Harry.

"Glad you were able to find this place," Harry said. "Sakura, I saw you duck behind the corner—was something the matter?"

Sakura widened her eyes. He had seen her! Quickly, she formulated an excuse. "Oh, I accidentally dropped something, so I went to pick it up." She held her breath, wondering if Harry would fall for it. Luckily, he did, and Sakura sighed in relief as he nodded.

"Alright. Well, let's go inside. Welcome to Godric's Hollow, by the way."

Sakura and Syaoran followed Harry inside, where they met everyone else.

"Glad you made it here okay!" Lily said happily as she threw her arms around the two of them. Sakura and Syaoran looked around and gawked. The living room was completely packed with people!

"Let me introduce you two to everyone here," Ginny said. "That's my parents, Molly and Arthur Weasley. These are my brothers, Charlie, Bill, Percy, and George. This is Angelina, George's wife. Audrey is Percy's wife and Fleur here is Bill's wife." Ginny was gesturing to different people as she spoke. She then introduced them to her brothers'children: Victoire, Dominique, and Louis Weasley, children of Bill and Fleur Weasley; Molly and Lucy, Percy and Audrey's children, and finally, Fred and Roxanne, the children of George and Angelina. Ginny then took the liberty of introducing Sakura and Syaoran to everyone.

"Nice to meet you all," Sakura said cheerfully, though inside, her head swam with many different names. How was she going to remember them all?

"Don't worry dear, I know it's a lot to take in," Molly, Ginny's mother, said sympathetically. "Don't be shy, find a place to sit."

Sakura and Syaoran both nodded and went to find themselves a place to sit while Hermione, Fleur, and Ginny went to help Molly in the kitchen. They felt uncomfortable being around people they didn't know yet—while everyone was having a good time, they felt like outsiders. James broke the ice by sitting down next to them and said,

"Don't be overwhelmed. Even though we're a big family, everyone's pretty nice."

"We've heard a lot about you two through letters that Hugo sent his mother and I," Ron said. "I hear you're pretty good at Potions, Syaoran. "

"Not just good—a genius," Rose said. "Professor Malfo—"

"Professor Malfoy? Since when did Draco Malfoy start teaching at Hogwarts?" Ron asked sharply, looking over at Harry, who shrugged.

"Since two years ago, when Professor Slughorn retired from his position," Rose sighed. "I never told you and mum about that, did I? But anyway, Professor Malfoy made Li his assistant to go around and help struggling students with their potions. Li spends more time around Sakura though, even though she fares well on her own. Can't separate the two lo—oomph!" She wasn't able to finish as a pillow suddenly hit her face, muffling what she was about to say. Holding the pillow was Syaoran, feeling irritated while Sakura giggled next to him. Rose pushed the pillow away and shouted,

"Hey, that's not nice!"

"Can we stop talking about Sakura and I? I'm getting annoyed," he grumbled.

Sakura looked at him and smiled. "No no, I don't mind. They're curious, that's all."

Syaoran looked at her, smiling softly as he gazed deeply into her kind green eyes. The moment was ruined, however, when a pillow was suddenly placed between them and Rose peeked out from the top, grinning like crazy. "Payback," she said.

"They really do look adorable together," Angelina whispered to George, who nodded in agreement.

"Dinner's ready!" Hermione announced as she poked her head into the living room. "Hmm…looks like we're going to have to eat outside. I don't think the dinner table will be able to hold this many people."

"Aunt Hermione, Rose and I will help you set up," Lily said as she and Rose got up.

"Thanks you two," Hermione said.

As Rose and Lily left the room, Sakura's cell phone went off for the first time in months. When she saw who it was, thanks to Caller ID, she gasped. "It's Tomoyo-chan!" She quickly answered it and the rest of the conversation was lost to nearly everyone in the room except for Syaoran, for she rapidly fired away in Japanese. "Tomoyo-chan, I've missed you!"

"Sakura-chan, how are you doing over there? Is it Christmas break yet? You have to come home, I want to see you again, even if it's just for a short amount of time," Tomoyo said on the other end. "Also, I thought something was wrong when my calls didn't go through. Sakura-chan, what happened?"

"Apparently technology doesn't work at Hogwarts," Sakura said. "The only way of communication is by owls—like when an owl delivered that letter to me at your house."

"Sakura, you're the Card Mistress. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to make technology work at Hogwarts. Make a Technology card or something."

Sakura grinned from ear to ear as she heard her friend's brilliant suggestion. "Tomoyo-chan, that's a great idea! Then we can talk to each other whenever we want—well, except when we're in classes, of course."

"I'd like that very much, Sakura-chan! By the way, have you worn any of my outfits yet?"

"Um…not yet. We have to wear a uniform here," Sakura replied. "Anyway, I'll be home in a couple of days. Right now, Syaoran-kun and I are visiting some new friends' families. I'll see if I can invite them over to Japan to meet you."

"Okay!" Tomoyo said cheerfully back. "See you then!"

"Bye," Sakura said as she removed the cell phone from her ear and hit the end call button. A quick glance around showed that everyone had heard her conversation, even if they didn't understand it. Her cheeks went red when she realized how rude she must have been.

"Oh dear…I'm sorry," she apologized in English.

"Oh, it's not a problem. My wife occasionally speaks to her little sister in French," Bill spoke up, understanding in his eyes.

"Dinner's ready, everyone!" Rose called.

"Great, cuz I'm starving," George said.

They went outside and Sakura saw two long tables underneath two very large picnic umbrellas. Strung around the poles were lanterns to provide light. Both Sakura and Syaoran sat at the table with those close to their age while the older adults sat at the other table. The Card Mistress gasped when she saw the food in front of her. It was exquisite!

"The food looks amazing, Mrs. Weasley," she complimented.

"Thank you, Sakura," Molly said with a smile.

Sakura was about to clap her hands together and say "itadakimasu" when she noticed that at the adult table, an empty seat was left on one side of George.

"Why is there an empty seat next to George?" she asked Hugo.

"Oh, that's because he lost someone very precious to him 24 years ago. He always saves one extra seat for that person, even though he will never see that person again," Hugo explained.

"That's so sad," Sakura said forlornly as she stared at the empty seat next to George. He must have noticed her staring at the seat next to him, because he smiled at her and patted the chair next to him.

"I'm saving this for my brother. Even though he's no longer physically with us, I believe that it's proper to save him a seat during family meals and occasions," he explained, though Sakura could tell that he must be hurting inside. "After all, he could be visiting in spirit and it would be rude of me not to offer my brother a place at the table! Anyway, we can't dwell on the past, can we? Dig in and eat!" With that said, he stabbed his fork into a plump roast pig and tore a piece of meat off.

Sakura smiled at the thoughtful yet sad explanation that George had given. She helped herself to fish and treacle tart while Syaoran helped himself to chicken, fish, and some vegetables. It was the grandest meal they ever had, even better than Hogwarts' food. During the meal, a young man named Teddy Lupin joined them, having arrived from work. Once their stomachs were satisfied, the young witches and wizards decided to play.

"Let's play a friendly round of Quidditch," Rose said. "We'll divide into two teams. Sakura, Li, you know what this means."

Sakura grinned at Syaoran. "Get ready to have your butts kicked."

"No way, cherry blossom, the game is as good as mine," he smirked back.

When the two teams were formed, Sakura found herself as the seeker of one team, with Rose and Lily being the Chasers, Al and Dominique being the Beaters, and Hugo being the Keeper. On the other team, Syaoran was chosen to be the seeker, Victoire and Teddy were the Chasers, James and Fred were the Beaters, and Louis acted as Keeper. Since they didn't have proper Quidditch goal hoops, makeshift ones were created. Sakura and Syaoran hovered high in the sky above the other players, the usual starting position for seekers. From below, Angelina released the Quaffle and put it into play. The Chasers quickly went after the Quaffle, passing it to teammates with the ultimate goal of throwing it into the opponent's goal hoop without getting stopped by the Keeper.

While the game was going on under them, Sakura and Syaoran focused their attention on finding and getting the Snitch. Unfortunately, both had the same strategy for finding the Snitch, and both sensed the Snitch's location at the exact same time. In one swift movement, the two of them tilted their broom up, causing their brooms to ascend and follow the Snitch that was now visible to them. The Snitch appeared to get closer and closer to them with every passing moment…either one of them would have to capture the Snitch. Sakura reached her hand out, her fingers just mere inches away from the Snitch…suddenly, Syaoran accidentally slammed into her with his broom in his reckless attempt to throw himself at the Snitch before she did. Sakura shot forward, and next thing she knew, she and Syaoran were plummenting towards the ground, their bodies entwined with each other's. Without thinking, Sakura screamed out,

"WINDY!"

As if her trusty card had heard her cry, a gust of wind gathered at the bottom, breaking the two's fall twelve inches above the ground before they fell and rolled around. Sakura's eyes were tightly closed, her back resting on the cool grass and one of her hands holding Syaoran's. She could feel his body on top of her, holding her tightly with his other arm. Gasps could be heard all around, along with a few whistles and cheers. Her eyes slowly opened, then widened in shock when she realized what happened—somehow, they ended their rolling with their lips meeting each other's! Syaoran realized this as well, for both their faces suddenly turned red as they blushed profusely. Their lips breaking apart from each other's, they sat up, their hands still clasped around one another.

"I-I'm sorry-" Sakura began before Syaoran shook her head.

"No...I'm the one who should be sorry," Syaoran said softly. They looked down at the grass, then up at each other with a shy expression on their face, as if they had met for the first time. Syaoran was the first to get up, and as he did so, he pulled Sakura up with him, clasping his other hand around his other hand and hers. Once she was up, Syaoran slowly removed his hand from hers…and as he did, he saw that the Golden Snitch had been lying feebly in-between their hands.

"Well, would you look at that," George whistled. "I'd say that for the first time in Quidditch history, two Seekers have caught the Snitch at the exact same time. Since both teams got 150 points, we'll have to calculate this based on the number of goals. Since Li's team scored three more goals than Sakura's, they win the match. But really you two, thanks for an amusing game of Quidditch. You two really are the cutest couple."

Sakura and Syaoran turned red at that, but inside, Syaoran was celebrating that his team won. Sakura was also relieved that no one had noticed or heard that Sakura had yelled out for Windy's help. Chuckling, Harry stepped forward and said, "Well, that was an amusing game of Quidditch. You two are amazingly fast at capturing the Snitch—it was like you instinctively knew where the Snitch was, and it wasn't even that far into the game yet."

Sakura and Syaoran smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Potter," Syaoran said.

"Do you have any other plans for the holidays?" Ginny asked.

"I promised Scorpius that Sakura and I would drop by," Syaoran said.

"Oh, right, it's Scorpius' birthday," Rose said over her shoulder. "He's turning sixteen. They must be throwing a grand party for him or something—best to come dressed and make yourselves look presentable."

"Is that so?" Sakura said with wonder, then realized that while she had something to wear, thanks to Tomoyo insisting that she pack her newly-made outfits, she had nothing to give to Scorpius. "But I don't have anything to give to him as a present, and it would seem rude to show up without a present…"

"Don't worry," Syaoran said. "I have a present in mind, and we can say that it's a gift from both of us."

Sakura beamed at him. "Okay, that's a great idea!"

* * *

A/N: Scorpius' birthday is unknown, so I decided to just have his birthday be around the holiday break, haha.

Also, I felt this would be the perfect chapter to introduce Harry, Hermione, the Weasleys, and almost everyone we knew and loved from the series, though since this was supposed to be only a Potter and Weasley dinner with their loved ones (and with Sakura and Syaoran since Lily and Al insisted they come), I didn't include Neville or Luna. I also apologize if I made any of them seem out of character.

Also, even if I don't directly say it, there's a lot of time skipping in this fic, to move the story along. After all, the story would be going nowhere if all I write that Sakura and Syaoran are going to classes for several chapters.


	9. Scorpius' Birthday

Chapter 9: Scorpius' Birthday

The next day, Sakura glanced at herself in the mirror, observing herself from the front and back. Rose poked her head into the room and gently knocked on the door to announce her presence. Sakura looked over her shoulder to see Rose standing in the doorway and smiled.

"Hey Rose, come on in," she greeted.

"That dress is gorgeous," Rose complimented as she walked in and sat on a nearby chair, wearing a dress of her own. "Where'd you get it?"

Sakura smiled as she turned back around to face the mirror, blushing at the compliment. On her body was a strapless, light green, chiffon and satin knee-length dress that boasted a sweetheart neckline, with tiny beads running along the edge of the neckline. Around her waist was a ribbon, knotted into a bow to Sakura's left. Her hair was in soft curls, cascading over her delicate shoulders, with a cherry blossom hairpiece attached to one side of her head. On her feet were a pair of light nude-colored peep-toe heels that were an inch and a half high and had a cute bow on them.

"My best friend back home made this for me. She's a designer," she answered.

"She's quite the designer," Rose remarked. "That's better than any dress robe I've seen in Madam Malkin's shop in Diagon Alley."

Sakura grinned. "I'll tell Tomoyo-chan that you said that."

At that moment, Syaoran knocked on the door and asked, "Sakura, are y—y—" A blush crept across his cheeks when he saw Sakura before him, unable to finish his question. She looked absolutely stunning! "Y-y-you look beautiful," he stammered.

Sakura blushed at his compliment. "Thank you…you look quite handsome yourself," she said, noting his collared black shirt, black pants, dark green tie, and black dress shoes.

Syaoran blushed harder and looked away from her. "I-it's nothing, really. This is just an ordinary dress shirt and dress pants."

"Well now, we don't want to be late, shall we?" Rose spoke up cheerfully. "Come on, uncle Harry will take us to the Malfoy's—I think he wants to have a word with Professor Malfoy or something. He and Al are waiting downstairs."

"Are Hugo and James coming too?" Syaoran asked.

Rose shook her head. "James loathes Scorpius, and Hugo wasn't invited."

Sakura and Syaoran nodded as they followed Rose out of the room and headed downstairs, where Harry was waiting for them.

"Everyone here?" he asked.

"Yes, Uncle Harry," Rose replied.

"Good. Now take each other's hands," Harry instructed, and everyone moved to link hands until a circle was formed. Harry then concentrated on picturing the Malfoy Manor in his head before using Side-Along Apparition to take the group there. Sakura could feel her stomach churn during the journey—it wasn't anything like what she felt with the Teleport Card. Looking at Syaoran, she could see him getting a little green in the face. Before they knew it, they were standing at the gates of Malfoy Manor. Harry narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the mansion before him.

"Still as dark and brooding as ever, I see," he murmured.

Syaoran calmly walked up to the gate and loudly announced to no one in particular, "Hey Scorpius, it's me, Li. Open up!"

As if his words had been heard, the gates swung open, allowing entry up to the front door of the mansion. Syaoran looked over his shoulder and motioned for everyone to follow him. They walked up to the front door and Rose took the liberty of knocking on it. A couple of seconds passed before the door opened and Scorpius looked out.

"Hey, glad you could make it." He then saw Harry and nodded his head in greeting. "Hello, Mr. Potter. Are you here to see my dad?"

"Indeed I am," Harry said. "We have some business to talk about."

"Syaoran and I got you a present, Scorpius," Sakura said happily. "Happy birthday!"

"Um, thanks," Scorpius said, a bit surprised that someone he didn't know well had gotten him a present. In fact, he never said it was his birthday. He shot Rose a look, who shrugged.

"Well, don't just stand there, let us in!" Al said.

"Oh…right," Scorpius said as he opened the door a little wider to let them in. As they stepped in, Sakura could see how extravagantly the interior was decorated for Scorpius' birthday. One of the rooms had a dance floor and refreshment bar, while another room was filled with circular dining tables. It didn't look at all like the Malfoy Manor that Harry had stepped foot in 24 years ago. A door to a closed room swung open as a tall man with receding pale blonde hair stepped out.

"Scorpius, I see your guests have…arrived…well, well, well, if it isn't Potter," the man smirked, catching sight of Harry.

"Hello there, Malfoy," Harry said coolly.

Draco shifted his attention to his son. "Scorpius, you and your little friends go on ahead," he murmured.

"Yes, dad," Scorpius said, then beckoned for the group to follow him to the room with the refreshment bar. "Come on. The others are waiting." As he lead them pass his father, Sakura couldn't help but cheerfully chirp,

"See you later, Professor Malfoy!"

Harry chuckled as he watched the kids disappear into another room. "Delightful girl." An uncomfortable silence then passed between him and his childhood archnemesis. Even though he had saved Draco's life and Draco and his family had indirectly saved Harry's, they still weren't friends and still had those years of hatred between them, though the hatred had quelled.

"So…Syaoran Li's your star student, is he?" Harry asked after a while.

"Yes, he is. If Professor Snape was still around, he'd appreciate the boy," Draco remarked.

More uncomfortable silence then passed between them before Harry cleared his throat.

"Well, I'll be going, then," he said.

Draco curtly nodded. "See ya, Potter."

"Right," Harry said as he turned around and walked out the door.

"Are your birthday parties always this grand?" Sakura asked.

Scorpius nodded as he poured himself a goblt of pumpkin juice. "Pretty much." He took a sip. "When I turn 17, it'll be even grander than this."

Syaoran looked around, recognizing many of his fellow Housemates present at the party. "You invited the entire Slytherin house, didn't you?" he asked.

"Not all of them," Scorpius said. "Most of them. Even though my family no longer holds a lot of power, they still have a big influence on the wizarding world. Li, I take it your family's pretty important, too, if my family has records of your family in their record books. I believe I mentioned it to you before."

Sakura's eyes widened as she turned to Syaoran. "Wow, really?"

Syaoran closed his eyes and crossed his arms at the same time. "This is the first time I've heard about it. The Li Clan is particularly secretive and protective of our magic, so how the Malfoys know about us escapes me."

Sakura smiled. "Well, let's not dwell on that right now. We should be celebrating Scorpius' birthday!" She helped herself to a goblet of pumpkin juice and clinked her goblet with Scorpius as a toast. "To Scorpius!" she said cheerfully.

Scorpius chuckled lightly. "Thanks, Sakura. You know, you're too nice for your own good. That's going to get you into trouble one day."

Syaoran smiled as he put an arm around Sakura's waist, making her blush lightly. "That's what I've been telling her."

Sakura playfully shoved Syaoran away, but he simply smirked and pulled her tighter into his one-arm hug. Scorpius gagged and made a face. "You two, it's my birthday, so please don't ruin it."

"You heard him, Syaoran," Sakura scolded, her cheeks turning pink. Syaoran unwrapped his arm around Sakura's waist and, along with his other arm, folded them behind his head as he looked away. The rest of the time, they all spent time celebrating Scorpius' birthday and congratulating him. When it came time to opening presents, Scorpius was pleasantly surprised that he received a hand-sewn, red stuffed scorpion from Sakura and Syaoran, as his name was the eighth sign in the Zodiac and the constellation for Scorpio resembled that of a scorpion. When the party had ended and Scorpius had escorted them out, Rose turned to face Sakura and Syaoran as they walked.

"So where are you guys heading next?" Rose asked.

"Home," Sakura said, smiling. "I want to spend the holidays with my family. I don't think my brother would ever forgive me if I don't come home for Christmas."

"Well, I'll be seeing you back after break, then," Al said.

* * *

A/N: Crappy chapter, I know. I just started summer session at my college and my brain is already fried.


	10. Merry Christmas!

A/N: Disclaimer notice: CCS belongs to CLAMP, Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Chapter 10: Merry Christmas!

"Ah, it's great to be back in Japan!" Sakura said happily as she stepped off the plane and made her way towards the baggage claim area of the Narita airport, with Syaoran following behind her. As they made their way towards the baggage claim area, Sakura spotted a large sign saying "WELCOME BACK SAKURA-CHAN", with the holder of the sign being her best friend Tomoyo. Next to her was Sakura's father and brother. A cry of happiness erupted from Sakura's mouth as she rushed forward to greet her friend.

"Tomoyo-chan!" she cried. "Otou-san, onii-chan!"

"Sakura-chan! I've missed you so much!" Tomoyo exclaimed as the two girls embraced each other in a hug. "You have to tell me all about Hogwarts and—" she stopped mid-sentence when she saw Syaoran. A smirk appeared on her face as she said, "Sakura-chan, how come you didn't tell me that you ran into Li-kun over there?"

Sakura grinned sheepishly. "Syaoran asked me to keep it a surprise."

"Why you…" Touya growled as he and Syaoran locked eyes in a death glare contest. "You were with my sister all this time? If I had known, I would've said no to her request to go!"

"Touya, your sister's 16 now," Fujitaka said, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "Besides, you were away at college when she was accepted overseas."

"And I still think that's strange," Touya said, not liking that his sister was accepted to some strange foreign school out of nowhere. He couldn't even find information about the school himself!

Sakura shot her brother a warning look. "Onii-chan…"

"Well, now that we've gotten reacquainted with each other, Sakura-chan, Li-kun, why don't you two get your luggage?" Tomoyo asked with a smile.

Sakura and Syaoran turned to her and nodded, happy to get away from the awkward tension as soon as possible. They headed over to one of the conveyer belts and waited for their luggage to come up on the conveyer belt. It wasn't long before Sakura spotted hers and reached out to grab it. Syaoran's luggage soon appeared afterwards.

"Syaoran-kun, do you have a place to stay at?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah. Luckily I still have the keys to my old apartment, so I'll be staying there."

Sakura smiled. "Is that so? That's great then! Well then, I wouldn't want to keep you. You should go home and unpack."

Syaoran nodded again. "Right. I'll see you later, Sakura." He lifted a hand up to wave goodbye to her before turning his back on her and walking towards the doors. From where she stood, Sakura silently watched in earnest at his retreating back, waving with a smile plastered on her face. After a while, her waving slowed down to a stop before her arm dropped back down to her side.

"Come on Sakura, let's go home," Fujitaka said, placing a hand on his daughter. Sakura glanced up at her dad and beamed.

"Hai!"

* * *

Syaoran stared up at his old apartment, noting that nothing had changed much. He was thankful that he still had a place to return to, despite the fact that he left Japan two years ago. He took the elevator up to his floor, then walked over to his front door. From his pocket, he withdrew the key to his apartment and inserted into the lock. With a turn, the sound of a click could be heard, signifying that the door was now unlocked. Syaoran opened the door and stepped inside. Everything was the same as it had been two years ago, although he was sure that dust had accumulated. He would have to take care of that. He set his luggage down on the floor besides the couch and collapsed onto the couch, one arm draped across his forehead. Being back in this apartment brought back all sorts of nostalgic memories for him. However, this time, his guardian Wei wasn't there with him. He was there on his own. Well, he was going to return to Hogwarts soon anyway; it wasn't like he was going to stay here for long.

* * *

"Waaahh, presents!" Sakura squealed as she raced down the stairs and ran into the living room where the Christmas tree was placed the next morning. Her eyes scanned the presents under the tree, looking as giddy as a young boy receiving the best Christmas present ever. Touya scoffed at his little sister's actions.

"The meaning of Christmas is to give, not get, monster."

Sakura glared at him as she promptly stopped on his foot, causing him to cry out in pain. "I'm NOT a monster, and I know that!"

"Come now, you two, stop bickering," Fujitaka said. "It's Christmas! Now let's open up some presents, shall we?"

Sakura beamed. "Okay!" For the next ten or fifteen minutes, they spent time opening presents and taking family photos. At ten, Sakura was on her way over to Tomoyo's to spend the rest of her Christmas with her best friend and Syaoran. When she rang Tomoyo's doorbell, it wasn't Tomoyo who answered the door, but Syaoran. Sakura blushed as they faced each other.

"Hey," he said softly as he stepped aside to let her through.

"Hi," Sakura answered back, blushing as she stepped inside.

"Sakura-chan, you're here!" Tomoyo squealed as she ran up to greet her friend. "Come on, we can catch up on old times in my room! Plus, my gift is waiting for you there. The food's being prepared at the moment, so it won't be too long before we eat."

Sakura grinned. "Alright. By the way, look what I got from my dad and brother!" She held up a small bag in her right hand and reached into it with her other hand to take out a jewelry box. Opening it, she revealed two cherry blossom-shaped earrings. "This one's from my dad." She let her friends admire the earrings for a few seconds, then closed the box and placed it back into the bag before pulling out another one. This time, it was a drop necklace adorned with light pink crystals. "This one's from my brother."

Tomoyo's eyes dazzled. "Those are beautiful, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura smiled. "Thank you, Tomoyo-chan."

"I can't wait to see you wearing them," Syaoran said, smiling at her. "I'm sure you'll look beautiful."

Sakura smiled softly at him. "Thank you." She reached into her bag again and pulled out a stuffed wolf to hand to Syaoran. "I'm sorry if the stitching is poorly done…I made this myself, and my sewing skills aren't so great, and if you don't like it, I can understand," she gushed as she held the stuffed wolf out to the boy she loved with both hands.

Syaoran stared at her, wide-eyed and shocked. She made the wolf plushy by herself? His eyes traveled back and forth from her to the stuffed wolf in her hands. Finally, after what seemed like an endless moment of awkward silence, he smiled and stepped forward. Gently, he pried the stuffed wolf away from her hands and took it into his own.

"Sakura, I love it. The fact that you made it yourself makes it all the more precious to me," he said gently.

Sakura looked into his amber eyes, searching them to make sure he wasn't lying. "Really?" she asked.

Syaoran nodded. "Ah. On another note, I have something for you as well." He tucked the stuffed wolf under one arm, then reached into his pockets and withdrew a small black box. While still keeping the stuffed wolf tucked under his other arm, he lifted the lid off the box with his other hand, revealing a beautiful cherry blossom hair ornament with two long yellow ribbons trailing down. With wide eyes, Sakura cautiously brushed her fingers against the hair ornament.

"Syaoran-kun…" she breathed. A tear slipped down her cheeks. Syaoran stood there, helpless and shocked. Did she not like his present?

"Sakura, I'm sorry. If this isn't what you wanted, then I truly apologize. I should've gotten you something better," he said softly, not wanting to see his cherry blossom cry.

Sakura shook her head as she wiped the tear away. "No," she said with a soft smile as she looked up at the messy-haired boy. "I'm just…happy and touched. I love it, Syaoran." To prove it, she removed the hair ornament from the box and clipped it to the left side of her head. She ran over to a mirror and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. With her mouth slightly opened, she couldn't help but marvel at how pretty the hair ornament looked on her. Syaoran came up behind her and wrapped his strong arms around her waist. Pressing his lips against the top of her head, he murmured,

"You look beautiful."

A blush crept across her cheeks. Sakura murmured, "Arigatou, Syaoran-kun."

"Ohohoho!" Tomoyo chuckled; this whole time, she had been silently filming Sakura and Syaoran's lovey-dovey moments. "I know you two would absolutely love to get lost in each other's eyes and possibly even make love, but I have a present to give to the both of you!"

Sakura and Syaoran both turned red at Tomoyo mentioning the thought of them making love to each other and turned to face her, horrified.

"Tomoyo, don't you think we're a little too young for that?!" Sakura stammered.

"Y-yeah," Syaoran agreed. "For crying out loud, we're only fifteen! A-and we're not ready to take it THAT far yet…"

Tomoyo only chuckled. "Hai hai! Now stay here while I get your presents." She went over to her closet and opened the door. Sakura watched as her friend disappeared behind the door, then emerge later with a large bag and a smaller bag. Sakura eyed the bags suspiciously; what could possibly be in it? Tomoyo held the larger bag out to Sakura and beamed.

"Okay, here's your present, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura took the bag from the dark-haired girl and glanced into it. With one hand, she reached into it and pulled out a gorgeous white dress with puffy sleeves and traces of intricate red designs.

"Tomoyo-chan…did you make this?" she asked.

Tomoyo smiled. "Yes. Making outfits and filming you is my life, Sakura-chan. I made the dress with the thought that you would look absolutely lovely in my creations."

Sakura smiled as she embraced her friend. "Thank you, Tomoyo-chan. It's beautiful."

"And as for you, Li-kun…" Tomoyo handed him the smaller bag. "Merry Christmas!"

Syaoran stepped forward and took the bag from Tomoyo. "Thanks, Daidouji." He reached in and pulled out what looked like a suit. It was elegantly made, with the coat being a light tan color. The waistcoat that came with the suit was double breasted with green buttons. The lapel of the coat was lined with red trim and a green button at the topmost portion of the lapel.

"How do you like it, Li-kun?" Tomoyo asked.

Syaoran glanced over at her. 'It's very well-made, Daidouji."

Tomoyo smiled. "I'm so glad you think so, Li-kun. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Sakura chimed in happily.

* * *

A/N: Rewrote this entire chapter and took out the winter play and the visit from Scorpius, the Potter kids, the Weasley kids, Damian, and Regina since I didn't think those would be necessary. So now it just focuses on Sakura spending time with her loved ones. The outfits that Syaoran and Syaoran received from Tomoyo look like the one they wear in the manga image in which they are holding a red heart together.


	11. He's Back

Chapter 11: He's Back

Leon apparated into a dark room lit up only by candles. In the center of the room was a long table. As soon as his presence was made known, a voice seemed to echo out in the dark.

"You're late," a cold voice hissed.

Leon smiled wryly as he bowed forward. "Forgive me." He then took his seat a few seats away from where Damian was sitting, eyeing the false body of the dark lord with cautiousness and curiosity. If he had been born during Voldemort's time, back when he was young, he would've never guessed that someone with such a handsome face could turn out to be the most evil wizard in all of Europe. Sitting to the right of Damian was Regina, a wicked smile cast upon her features. Once Leon took a good look around, he noticed that they weren't alone.

"Now that everyone's here," Damian spoke, "Let us begin this meeting. You may all be wondering why I have gathered you here."

Murmurs of agreement could be heard throughout the room as those seated at the table wondered why a fifteen year old kid would call full-grown dark wizards together. Damian smiled evilly at all of them.

"Would you believe me if I said that Lord Voldemort was alive?"

Gasps and murmurs rang down the long table as many pairs of shocked eyes settled on him, while some darted nervously between colleagues.

"Impossible," one murmured. "He was killed by Harry Potter 24 years ago!"

"A foolish mistake that had not been taken into account," Damian murmured. "However, Lord Voldemort lives, and it is thanks to the sorcerer Leon. Witness the return of Lord Voldemort!"

He withdrew his wand from his robe sleeves and aimed the tip at himself. A spell escaped his lips. Instantaneously, a black fog surrounded him, starting from his feet and spiraling up to his head. From out of the black fog stepped Voldemort, no longer in the form of a 15 year old child, though also not as he was during Harry Potter's time…no, he was as he was when the First Wizarding War started. The room was filled with stunned silence. Not one witch or wizard at the table could say anything.

"Stunned into silence, are you?" Voldemort sneered. "Stunned that I have come back from the dead?"

"My lord, forgive me for being doubtful," the wizard who had spoken earlier apologized in a low tone, bowing his head. "I didn't expect…"

"Did not expect that such magic exists to resurrect the dead?" Voldemort asked in his high, cold voice. "No matter. I have called you all here today to reinstate my army. Many of my soldiers have been killed at Hogwarts 24 years ago, and security at Azkaban is tighter than ever, especially with…Potter working there now. However, I wish to break all my loyal followers who are paying their time in there out, though the numbers are few."

"What do you wish to do, my lord?" another wizard asked.

Voldemort smiled cruelly. "Announce my return to the wizarding world. No one else but those of you here know that I am revived, reborn. But first, I wish to pay a visit to a certain family."

* * *

"This is impossible! This defies the fabric of nature, the laws of the universe, the order of the cosmos! He should never have been brought back to life!" A transparent man with long black hair roared as he folded his arms.

"I agree that resurrecting the dead is forbidden, Sirius," a man with long white hair and beard said thoughtfully. "But there is nothing we can do about it. We're already dead. All we can do is watch."

"Watch as more die at the hands of Voldemort?" Sirius snarled. "Absolutely not, Dumbledore!"

A girlish giggle interrupted him. "Well, perhaps my dear daughter can change his mind."

Sirius and Dumbledore turned to see a woman with long, cascading purple locks and striking emerald eyes approaching them, her white dress sweeping behind her as she walked. Sirius couldn't help but whistle at her appearance.

"Pardon me, but who are you?" A man with dark hair and glasses asked.

"My name is Nadeshiko Kinomoto," the woman said with a smile, introducing her name in the western order. "My daughter is Sakura Kinomoto and she is currently attending Hogwarts, though she is back home in Japan for the holidays right now. I've been following my daughter, keeping a watchful eye out for her."

"What makes you think your daughter can change Voldemort?" Another man with dark brown hair asked. "Voldemort is an emotionless being. He lost any traces of humanity he might have had long ago. He's just a heartless murderer now. Even if he had been brought back to redeem himself, he will never change."

Nadeshiko only continued to smile. "I have faith in Sakura-chan. If it's her, she will be able to do it. Just sit back and watch."

"I hope you know what you're saying, Miss Kinomoto," the man with dark hair and glasses said.

* * *

"Wahh! So pretty!" Sakura gasped. The shopping district of Tomoeda was extravagantly decorated for Christmas, with a giant Christmas tree in the center. Lights and wreaths decorated the shops, and in the night, the glowing lights made it seem as if Tomoeda had been transported to a magical place. The girl ran forward, her arms spread out wide, as she spun around and around in circles, giggling. Syaoran couldn't help but blush as he observed her giddiness, while Tomoyo just giggled and filmed her enthusiastic friend.

Sakura ran up to a store displaying two teddy bears placed side by side; one had a red scarf while the other had a green scarf.

"How cute!" she beamed.

Something in the corner of her eye caught Tomoyo's attention, distracting her from filming Sakura. She lowered her camera and turned to a sign stationed nearby. In large, bold letters were the words

"Enter the Best Couple Contest! Only 5 yen to enter! See if you have what it takes to be Tomoeda's Best Couple!"

A glint appeared in Tomoyo's eyes. "Ohohoho!"

Syaoran glanced over at Tomoyo out of the corner of his eye. "I don't like the sound of that laugh. What are you up to now, Daidouji?"

Tomoyo smiled and simply pointed to the sign. Syaoran turned beet red just as Sakura turned and noticed the sign Tomoyo was pointing out.

"HOEEE/EHHH?!" Sakura and Syaoran screamed out simultaneously.

"Absolutely no way!" Sakura cried, crossing her arms out in an X in front of her body while shaking her head from side to side.

"Aww, come on!" Tomoyo pleaded. "Please?" She gave them the puppy-eyed look.

Sakura and Syaoran glanced at each other, then sighed. They couldn't say no to Tomoyo's puppy-eyed look.

"Fine," they said at the same time, their heads drooping.

"YAY!" Tomoyo squealed. "I'll go sign you two up right now."

A few minutes later, the Card Mistress and the Descendant of Clow found themselves standing on stage near the giant Christmas tree alongside four other couples. Sakura and Syaoran were pleasantly surprised to see Chiharu and Yamazaki there, and they in turn were surprised to see Sakura and Syaoran. An emcee stood at the microphone, his excited voice booming out over the crowd that had gathered to watch.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the 21st annual Best Couple Contest, where we deem who Tomoeda's Best Couple is! Our contestants this year are Mihara Chiharu and Yamazaki Takashi, Takeda Fumiko and Matsumoto Kenichi, Kinomoto Sakura and Li Syaoran, and Haneda Mimi and Akemi Kaitou. For our first round, we shall test the compatibility of each couple! Ladies, would you please go back stage? We would like to ask the gentlemen a few questions."

Sakura was confused, but followed the emcee's instructions anyway. She went backstage with Chiharu, Mimi, and Fumiko while Syaoran, Takashi, Kenichi, and Kaitou stayed behind. Once the girls were all backstage, the emcee turned to the gentlemen.

"Alright, we'll start with the simple question. What is your girlfriend's favorite flower?"

Syaoran smiled; that was an easy question. "Simple," he answered. "Cherry blossoms, just like her name."

Takashi was next to answer. "Freesia."

"Umm….lilies?" Kenichi guessed. From his tone of voice, it was very clear that he didn't know what his girlfriend's favorite flower was.

"Daffodils," Kaitou said, though his voice wavered.

"Alright then, next question," the emcee said. "If you could have a date anywhere you want, where would you prefer? A quiet night at home, a night out at the movies, or an extravagant dinner?"

Takashi smiled. "I would treat Miharu-san to a night out at the movies."

Syaoran had to think carefully about this answer. He ruled out an extravagant dinner, because he knew Sakura was a simplistic girl who did not like things being done too extravagantly. That left the movies and a quiet dinner at home for just the two of them. However, the movies offered no sense of privacy for a date night.

"A quiet night together at home, and I would make her dinner," Syaoran replied.

The other two contestants both gave their answers of treating their girlfriends out to extravagant dinners.

"Okay, last question. What does your girlfriend find most important in a relationship, and why?"

Syaoran was the first to answer after the guys thought about what they wanted to say. "Love."

"But isn't love already present in a relationship?" the emcee asked.

Syaoran remained composed. "That's true, but after a while, some couples fall out of love, and the relationship would soon break apart, among all other factors. As long as the love is strong, the relationship will continue to grow. Next to love, Sakura would find trust most important, for without trust, how can a relationship be stable enough to withstand the trials that may be thrown at it?"

"A wise answer," the emcee said.

After Takashi, Kenichi, and Kaitou gave their answers, the emcee invited the girls back on stage.

"Alright, the first question we asked your boyfriends was what your favorite flower was," he said. "Ladies, could you please list your favorite flowers?"

"Cherry blossoms," Sakura said happily.

"Freesia," Chiharu said.

"Roses," Fumiko responded. Kenichi cringed. He was so off on that one!

"Daisies," Mimi responded. Kaitou also cringed.

"Alright, it seems only Li-san and Yamazaki-san got that question right! Moving on. We next asked what your ideal date would be, and the choices were: a quiet evening together at home, a night out at the movies, or an extravagant dinner. Haneda-san, what is your answer?"

"Clearly an extravagant dinner is the way to go," Mimi said proudly.

"Alright, and you, Kinomoto-san?"

"Umm…I prefer to keep it simple, so a quiet night home with Syaoran and a homecooked meal would be enough for me," Sakura responded.

"Mihara-san?"

"Knowing Yamazaki-kun, he would most likely respond "movies", but I prefer to cuddle up with him in front of a fireplace," Chiharu responded. Yamazaki almost fell over from her response. How off he was! Then like Mimi, Fumiko responded that she would prefer an extravagant dinner with her boyfriend. For round 2 of the questions, Syaoran, Kenichi, and Kaitou had answered correctly.

Finally, the last question came.

"For our last question, we asked these gentlemen what you would find most important in a relationship. What is your response?" the emcee asked.

"Love." Sakura responded with a large smile on her face.

"Honesty," Chiharu replied.

"Trust," Mimi said.

"Communication," Fumiko answered.

"Well, it seems that only Li-san answered this question correctly! Yamazaki-san had answered 'trust', Kenichi had answered 'honesty', and Kaitou had answered 'communication'!"

Sakura shot Syaoran a huge grin. Syaoran smiled back at her, making Sakura's heart melt.

"Okay, for our next round, each couple will sing a song together. You have two minutes to decide on a song. The time starts now!"

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows together. "I don't know what song to sing!" she cried.

Syaoran shook his head. "Me neither. I'm not familiar with Japanese artists."

"Then, may I be of help?" Tomoyo asked cheerfully. Sakura and Syaoran glanced at each other, then back at Tomoyo.

"Our first couple singing will be Kinomoto-san and Li-san! Please introduce the song you will be singing, please!"

Sakura nodded, blushing as she responded, "We will be singing 'In Your Arms' by Hirahara Ayaka-san." She looked at Syaoran for support, who nodded. Music began to play. Sakura took a deep breath and sang when it was time for her to start singing.

"The dawn sky shines on us  
When I open my eyes to the new morning  
You're there, in the middle of a bright light

Love overflows from our joined hands  
The wind gently blows on us  
I heard you make a promise for eternity  
Now, in this place

I trusted you  
Felt that there'd be no end to the love we were lavishing on each other  
In your arms…"

Syaoran stepped forward and continued singing.

"On nights when I couldn't see you I looked up at the sky  
And sang your favourite song  
I'll walk with you  
Our hearts deeply connected like this  
As we map out our long future that stretches into the distance

The fact that I met you when this world is so endlessly wide  
Is a miracle  
We'll fly from here  
Like a bird taking off high into the sky…"

Sakura then raised her microphone up to her lips and sang the last verse together with Syaoran as she looked straight into his warm amber eyes.

"Spread your wings  
We can weather any storm  
We're the one, and we can fly together to our future  
Wrapped in the stars that sparkle in the night sky  
I want to live through everything with you now!"

The crowd cheered when their song came to an end, causing the two to blush furiously. After the three other couples sang their songs and a few more questions were asked of the contestants, it was time for the audience to vote for the Best Couple by clapping and cheering for their favorite.

"Is it Haneda Mimi and Akemi Kaitou?" the emcee cried.

Polite clapping could be heard.

"How about Matsumoto Kenichi and Takeda Fumiko?"

The clapping was a little louder this time, but still not really loud.

"What about Miharu Chiharu and Yamazaki Takashi?"

Cheers and claps erupted from the audience. The emcee smiled. "Looks like we're getting somewhere. Now let's see what fate has in store for Kinomoto Sakura and Li Syaoran!"

The applause and cheers for the two were more thunderous than that for Chiharu and Yamazaki. Sakura and Syaoran turned beet red, the loudest of the cheers coming from Tomoyo herself as she screeched, "SAKURA-CHAN, LI-KUN, GANBATTE!"

"Well, it seems like our Best Couple this year is Kinomoto-san and Li-san by popular vote!" the emcee announced. "Congratulations to you two! For winning the 21st Annual Best Couple Contest, we would like to present you with two vouchers for a romantic getaway in Italy! Also, could you please turn and face the cameras? We take pictures of the winners of the Best Couple Contest and publish the results in the magazines!"

Sakura and Syaoran widened their eyes. "WHAT?!"

"Don't be shy," the emcee said with a smile. "Just a smile is all it takes."

"Let's just get this over with," Sakura suggested, her face red. Syaoran nodded in agreement. Together, they smiled at the camera as the flash went off.

"Very nice! And that wraps up our 21st Annual Best Couple Contest! We'll see you again next year!" the emcee announced. After Sakura and Syaoran received their vouchers for a romantic getaway in Italy, they met up with Tomoyo, Chiharu, and Yamazaki.

"Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?" Chiharu asked excitedly. "Shouldn't you be in Europe?"

"I'm here for winter break," Sakura responded with a grin. "And coincidentally, I ran into Syaoran-kun there! Turns out he's also studying at the same school I'm studying abroad at."

"Wow, that must be destiny," Chiharu commented with a sigh.

"H-hoee…"

"Well, it was nice seeing you two again," Yamazaki commented. "We better get going!"

"Is that so? Sorry for keeping you," Sakura apologized.

Chiharu shook her head. "No, it's fine! Have a safe trip back to Europe!"

"Bye!"

"So what do you want to do now?" Sakura asked after she, Tomoyo, and Syaoran waved goodbye to Chiharu and Yamazaki.

Tomoyo's eyes glinted. "Well…"

Uh-oh. That wasn't a good sign. Whenever Tomoyo's eyes glinted, it meant that she had something up her sleeve, and Sakura and Syaoran didn't like it. They stared warily at the blue-eyed girl, their suspicion rising to a new height.

* * *

Draco stood before the front door, his already pale complexion turning even paler, his eyes growing wide with fear and disbelief. For standing at the front door was the ultimate evil himself, a wicked and cold glare from his bloodshot eyes. His wand fell out of his grip to the floor with a loud clang.

"T-the dark lord," he whispered hoarsely. "Is it really...you? But…how?"

"Well well well, if it isn't Draco," Voldemort drawled. "My, haven't you grown up well. Do tell me, how _are_ your parents? I hope they have been well after they've renounced any affiliations with me."

Draco gulped; he didn't say anything. He did not want to say that his parents were now getting on in their old age and were no longer as powerful as they once were. That would only prompt this fearsome dark wizard to kill them in cold blood for their betrayal.

From behind a corner of a wall, Scorpius cautiously peeked out and saw a tall, bald man with greenish skin and red eyes speaking coldly to his father. Who was he?

The strange wizard at the door caught sight of Scorpius peeking out from around a corner; he pursed his lips and smiled.

"Your son, I take it, Draco?" Voldemort asked.

Scorpius to get out of there, to go back to his room and stay there. Now he knew the feeling of a parent fearing for their child's safety, especially if it concerned dark magic.

"Why don't you introduce me to him, Draco?" Voldemort sneered. "What's your name, boy?"

Scorpius shook as he left his hiding spot and slowly walked over to where his father was. "Scorpius, sir."

"Scorpius," Voldemort said in mocked awe. "How delightful to meet you!"

Draco took a deep breath. As evenly as he could keep his tone of voice, he asked, "What is it that you want?"

"Inform your parents that I am back and that they will be punished accordingly for daring to defy me," Voldemort spoke coldly. "You shall also be subjected to the same treatment. CRUCIO!"

Draco suddenly doubled over in pain, dropping to his knees as he clutched his stomach tightly. His face was grossly contorted as a strange cry erupted from his throat. He had never been subjected to the Cruciatus Curse before; now he knew how it felt. It was excruciatingly painful, as if he was being stabbed by a thousand knives. Scorpius froze in his tracks, his eyes wide with fear as he watched his father writhing on the floor. Then as quickly as the pain had come, it stopped.

Voldemort glared coldly at Draco. "Good day, Draco. That is the punishment you get for defying me 24 years ago."

He turned; in a instant fog of black, the number one dark wizard in all of Europe apparated away, leaving no traces of him behind. Once Voldemort was gone, Scorpius ran over to his dad.

"Dad, are you alright?" he asked.

Draco nodded, fighting the bile that was rising in his throat. "I have to tell your granddad and grandmum about this," he said hoarsely.

"Dad…who was that?" Scorpius asked, fear evident in his eyes.

"That, my son…was Lord Voldemort."

* * *

Dressed in a frilly pink and white dress, knee-length white socks, gloves, and red buckle shoes, Sakura stood in front of the giant penguin slide in Penguin Park, her emerald eyes searching in the night. Standing next to her was Syaoran, dressed in his traditional Chinese battle robes, his sword drawn. Her hand going up to her neck, she drew out a Star Key hanging on a pendant. A golden magic circle appeared underneath her feet as she closed her eyes, the Star Key detaching itself from the pendant and encasing itself in a floating blue orb of magical energy.

"Key that hides the power of the stars, reveal your true form before me! I, Sakura, command you under contract. RELEASE!"

With a burst of magical energy, the key instantly transformed into Sakura's familiar star wand. She twirled the wand in her hands expertly like a baton, then brought it close to her body. Syaoran took a step forward.

"It's coming."

Sakura nodded, her eyebrows furrowed. "Mm."

Suddenly, from behind them, the shadows of various objects, including that of the giant penguin slide, withdrew themselves from their respective objects and charged straight for the two sorcerers. Sakura withdrew a card hidden with her dress pocket and threw it up into the air.

"Jump!"

Small white wings appeared on her ankles as she jumped up into the sky. Syaoran simultaneously jumped into the air with her. The shadows followed their movement; Syaoran was able to get away, but the shadows wrapped themselves around Sakura's ankle. She gave out a scream as the shadows wrapped themselves around her other ankle, then around her wrist. At that moment, a girl holding a bow and arrow appeared in front of Sakura, a wicked smile on her face. Sakura widened her eyes as the girl drew back and fired.

"Raitei shourai!" Syaoran shouted, drawing an ofuda and pressing it against his sword. Powerful jolts of electricity emerged from the ofuda, attacking the arrows and making them fall to the earth uselessly.

Sakura cast her eyes upon the Chinese boy. "Thanks, Syaoran-kun!" She struggled to reach into her hidden dress pocket to pull out another card.

"Light, chase away these shadows!" she commanded. A bright regal spirit wearing white emerged from the card. Spreading her arms out wide to her sides, she unleashed a powerful burst of light. The blinding light erupting from her very being caused the shadows wrapped around Sakura's arms and legs to retreat back into the darkness, releasing the Card Mistress from their hold. Sakura dropped down to the ground, one knee up to stabilize her landing. She then rose to her fullest height as she heard a loud roar.

Casting her gaze up towards the sky, she took note of a giant dragon flying overhead, its flapping wings causing a strong gust of wind. The dragon took notice of Sakura; with a ferocious roar, it opened its mouth. A large fireball shot out of its mouth and headed straight for the young girl.

"Suiryuu shourai!" Syaoran shouted, drawing his water-based ofuda out from a pocket hidden in his robes. He slammed the flat side of his jian against the ofuda, causing a large burst of water to come pouring out. It intercepted the fireball's path, turning the deadly attack into mere steam.

"Become a chain that binds! WINDY!" Sakura threw the Windy Card into the air, where it magically hovered as she brought her staff up to meet it. The gentle spirit of the Windy appeared, with a cloak of green and yellow billowing behind her. She encircled the giant dragon, using the wind trailing behind her as a long rope to forcefully bring the dragon's flight to an end. The dragon gave out a roar as Windy restricted its flight, bringing it crashing back down to earth.

She caught Syaoran's eyes; he nodded, thinking about the same thing she was.

"Jump! Sword!" Sakura cried, transforming her staff into a sword while tiny wings appeared on her shoes. With a cry, Sakura jumped forward towards the dragon. Syaoran did the same, mirroring her movements. With a slashing motion, the two of them slashed away at the dragon. Rather than blood and guts spilling out of the dragon, it disintegrated into millions and millions of tiny little pieces; to the naked eye. They landed on the ground, back to back to each other as Sakura returned her sword back into her staff and Syaoran held his sword down by his side. They both stared straight ahead in the same general direction, an intense expression cast upon their faces.

Sakura soon broke her somber look and smiled sheepishly. "Um…how was that, Tomoyo-chan?"

Tomoyo lowered her video camera and laid her free hand against one side of her cheek. "That was FANTASTIC!" she squealed. "I love that Li-kun is in my movie this time! Ohohoho, once I get this footage edited, it will be the best thing ever! I'll make sure to send a copy to you two!"

"Uh, that's okay," Syaoran said politely, declining her offer.

"I'm just happy that you two agreed to my requests," Tomoyo said as she turned her back to them, her eyes still sparkling as she continued to rest her free palm against her cheeks. "With Sakura-chan off at Hogwarts, I don't think I would have another chance to film her again! It makes me so sad!"

"T-Tomoyo-chan…" Sakura couldn't help feeling exasperated and sad at the same time.

"Don't feel sad, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said. "As long as you are happy, I am happy as well. Say, when are you two returning to Hogwarts?"

"Um, at the end of the break," Sakura replied. "So I think after the New Year."

"Fantastic!" Tomoyo squealed.

"Hoee…"

* * *

A/N: Here is chapter 11, completely rewritten! This time I half-focused on what went on with Damian/Voldemort, and how he's slowly attempting to restore his influence on the wizarding world, starting with making his return known to dark wizards. Also, Voldemort is not pleased with the Malfoy family, as you can tell.


	12. The Dream

Chapter 12: The Dream

In less than 10 days, Sakura and Syaoran found themselves flying back to England and boarding the train back to Hogwarts. Since it was still the winter months, there was still plenty of snow. Pressing her palms against the glass of the windows in the train, Sakura stared out at the beautiful winter scenery with awe. Meanwhile, Syaoran watched her with his hands folded behind his head.

"How pretty!" she marveled. Her head swiveled to face Syaoran. "Hey, don't you think it's pretty?"

"Yeah..." Syaoran nodded in agreement.

Sakura turned back to stare at the gorgeous white scenery outside the window, her emerald eyes glowing.

_Knock knock!_

Syaoran turned his attention to the compartment door just as it slid open. Rose lifted a hand up in greeting as Al's, Lily's, and Hugo's heads popped up above hers.

"Hey, we're not interrupting anything, are we?" she asked.

The two transfer students blushed furiously, but Syaoran was the only one who shook his head furiously. "No!"

"That sounds like someone in denial," Al joked.

"I'm telling you, nothing happened between us!" Syaoran snapped.

"It's true," Sakura interjected. "I was just admiring the pretty scenery outside, that's all."

"Oh, alright," Lily said with a sigh. "Come on, you two, make up a story every once in a while. Have some fun!"

Sakura smiled sheepishly at the red-headed girl. "Hoee..."

It wasn't too long before Sakura soon fell asleep, and who could blame her? The train ride to Hogwarts was long, after all. By the time the Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogsmeade Station, it was already dark out. Syaoran's eyes shifted over to Sakura, whose head was leaning against his shoulder as she slept, her breathing slow and even. Gently, he snaked an arm around her shoulders and shook her.

"Sakura, we're here."

Sakura stirred slightly, her eyes opening halfway. "Hoe?"

"Come on, let's get our things," Syaoran said as he stood up.

Sakura groggily rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and smiled tiredly up at him. "You go on ahead. I'll catch up with you."

"You sure?"

"Un!" Sakura nodded cheerfully, though it was evident that she was still tired.

Syaoran gave her one last look before turning his body around, but kept his eyes on the emerald-eyed Cardmistress. "If you say so..."

"Don't worry about me," Sakura reassured. "I'm just a little groggy from the long train ride and from being woken up, that's all. Go on!"

Syaoran knew that there was no arguing with this girl, so he went ahead to get his luggage. Sakura stayed behind in their little compartment for a while to shake the sleepiness out of her, but once she was fully awake, she was back to her usual cheerful self. With a slam, she tugged the compartment door over to one side and bounced out with her backpack slung over her shoulders, only to come crashing into something. Next thing she knew, she was on the floor over someone's body.

"HOOEEEEEE!" came her familiar cry as she came tumbling down, the crash resounding throughout the train. Those who were still on the train and getting their luggage or about to head out heard the commotion and couldn't help but observe what was going on. To their surprise, Sakura was sprawled out on top of Damian who was sprawled out on top of Regina. Sakura, with a very sheepish and embarrassed expression on her face, quickly scrambled off the two Slytherins and began bowing deeply and profusively, her bow going deeper than a 90 degree angle and her chin almost touching her legs.

"Ah, I am so sorry! I should've looked more carefully before stepping out suddenly like that! Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry!" she cried, the palms of her hands pressed against each other while she bowed as if to ask the two she had just accidentally bowled over for forgiveness. "Please let me make it up to you somehow!"

Damian and Regina picked themselves up from the ground; Regina looked absolutely livid. She withdrew her wand from her robes and pointed it threateningly at Sakura. "You bloody well better be sorry! Do you know who you just knocked over like a bunch of gnomes?! You shall pay for this! Cr-"

Before Regina could say anymore, Damian stepped forward, holding a hand up to signal her to stop. "No. We should not do anything that would jeopardize our presence here." He then directed his attention to Sakura, whose eyes were downcast.

"You."

Sakura slowly raised her eyes to meet Damian's, who was staring back at her harshly. She flinched; his hard stare reminded her so much of Syaoran's back when they first met, but Damian's seemed much, much more harsh than Syaoran's had been.

"Y-yes?" she squeaked.

Damian observed the sorceress more carefully, wondering if he should call her out right then and there on her keeping secrets from Hogwarts. After all, before the Christmas break, he had observed her making a new Clow...no, a new Sakura Card at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. But then he thought about it, and decided that that could wait. Without a second thought, he turned his back on her. He was about to say something when Lily poked her head back into the train and waved at her.

"Sakura, hurry up, Li is getting anxious waiting for you!"

Sakura's expression changed from apologetic to beaming as she addressed her Gryffindor friend. "Ah, is that so?" She bowed quickly to Damian and Regina as a goodbye gesture, then took her leave as she ran over to where Lily was and hopped off the train.

"Sorry, did I keep you waiting long?" she asked Syaoran.

Syaoran smiled. "No, not at all. Lily was just being overdramatic."

Sakura giggled. "Oh, is that so? Anyway, I can't wait to go back!" She ran ahead of the Chinese boy, her backpack thumping against her back as she ran. About twenty feet away, she turned around and waved with robust cheerfulness. "Come on!"

With a blush on his cheeks, Syaoran walked towards the cheerfully waving girl. Sakura climbed into one of the waiting carriages and scooted over to leave room for everyone. Syaoran climbed in after her and sat down next to her, followed by Rose and Lily. Since the carriages could only hold four persons at a time, Al and Hugo went with James and James' best friend.

"So how was your Christmas break?" Lily asked.

Sakura placed a finger against her lips as she glanced up thoughtfully. "Hmm...it was really fun! I got lots of presents from my friends and family. I loved seeing Tomoyo-chan again!" She left out the part about her and Syaoran entering the Best Couple Contest at Tomoyo's insistence and winning. That was something they didn't need to know.

"Who's Tomoyo?" Rose asked.

At that point, Sakura remembered that her Hogwarts friends didn't know anything about her Muggle life back in Japan. She had never talked about her life in Japan in front of her new friends. Her eyes glowed as she spoke,

"Ah, Tomoyo-chan's my best friend from home. She's one of the non-magical people who knows about the magical community. Tomoyo-chan's a really great friend; she's never told anyone about my magical powers. She's really supportive!"

"Ah, it must be nice to have a friend like that," Rose smiled.

Sakura nodded eagerly. "Mm!" Her attention shifted to the front of the carriage, where there should've been something to pull the carriages, but instead, it seemed like the carriages were moving by themselves.

"Hey, are these carriages bewitched to move by themselves?" she asked.

Rose shook her head. "Nope. They're pulled by creatures called thestrals."

"Dad says that only people who have seen death are able to see the thestrals," Lily added.

Sakura widened her eyes. "Hoeee!"

"Don't worry, they're not ghosts or anything," Rose reassured, although the mention of 'ghosts' was anything but reassuring to the Cardmistress. Sakura's spine tingled just at the mention of the word, her breath growing shallower. "They're gentle, invisible horse-like creatures-at least that's what uncle Harry said."

"Uh, it's not a good idea to say the g word around Sakura," Syaoran warned.

"Huh? G word?" Lily asked, then realized a second later what Syaoran meant. "Wait, you're scared of them, Sakura? How come you never told anyone about this?"

Sakura nervously cast her eyes down at her lap as she mumbled, "Because it's such a childish fear. I should've outgrown this fear but I didn't."

Lily and Rose looked at Sakura with surprise. Lily leaned over and whispered into her cousin's ear, "Maybe we shouldn't mention to her that Hogwarts is swimming with ghosts. Wait...how come we haven't seen her run screaming from them if she's so afraid of them?"

Rose shrugged and whispered back, "Let's ask Li once we get out of earshot of Sakura."

Lily nodded. "Good idea!"

The invisibly-pulled carriages soon arrived in front of Hogwarts, just in time for dinner to start. Sakura was the first to hop out, but rather than going on ahead, she waited for her friends. Rose and Lily took that moment to ask Syaoran about why Sakura was afraid of ghosts, but didn't run screaming from the ghosts at Hogwarts.

"Hey, Li, can we ask you something?" Rose asked.

"What is it?" he asked as he climbed out of the carriage. He didn't look at her as she spoke.

"If Sakura's terrified of ghosts, how come she doesn't run screaming from the ghosts here at Hogwarts?" Rose continued.

"That's because she can only sense them, but she can't see them," Syaoran explained. "Her older brother can...or used to...be able to see ghosts, though. Sakura has the magical prowess, but her older brother has the spiritual awareness. As long as no one tells her there are ghosts here at Hogwarts, and blasted Peeves doesn't spook her by making something hover in front of her or do something worse, Sakura won't ever know that ghosts exist at Hogwarts."

"But what about History of Magic?" Lily asked. "Professor Binns is a ghost, you know."

"Ah, I, um, had asked Hiiragizawa to cast a charm so that Professor Binns appears alive to Sakura," Syaoran explained. He was about to say more when a movement caught his eye. Turning his head slightly to the left, he saw Sakura spinning around and around, her giddy face turned up towards the night sky.

"It feels so good to be back!" Sakura cried happily as she spread her arms out wide and spun around in circles. "I can't wait for dinner! I wonder what we're having!"

Syaoran couldn't help but smile at Sakura's cheerfulness; it was really infectious. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he walked up beside her and stared straight ahead as he spoke.

"Let's go."

Sakura nodded. "Okay!"

All the students headed into the Great Hall, where their first meal back would be a luxurious dinner. Sakura and Syaoran went to their respective tables and listened to Sprout welcome the students back from their Christmas break, then reminded the 5th years that OWLs were quickly approaching, that the Forbidden Forest was still off-limits, that there would be a trip to Hogsmeade that weekend for students who had permission, and finally, that there would be a masquerade-type ball sometime in spring. At this last announcement, excited mumbling and whispering could be heard throughout the Great Hall. A ball! Hogwarts rarely held dances, but when it did, they were always grand. Sprout then wished the students a prosperous year and then told them to enjoy their meal. Roxanne, one of Sakura's housemates, nudged Sakura and gave her a wink.

"Li is going to ask you out, isn't he?"

Sakura blushed. "Um, I don't know."

Deep down though, she hoped that Syaoran would ask her out, despite his hatred of school dances. She looked over to his table, and wasn't surprised to see a lot of Slytherin girls instantly attempting to ask him if he would accompany them to the ball. After all, he was really good-looking, not to mention extremely smart. Syaoran turned them all down, of course, yelling that he wasn't interested in any of them and that they should leave him alone. Once dinner was over, students had permission to do whatever they wanted, but they all had to be in bed by 8pm, or 9pm for older students.

Syaoran immediately went over to Sakura, his face beet red as he shouted, "WILLYOUGOTOTHEDANCEWITHME?"

Sakura blinked a few times in confusion, then tilted her head. "Hoe?"

Syaoran took a deep breath, then tried again. "Will you go to the dance with me?"

"My, he works fast," Eriol chuckled.

Sakura blushed and nodded. "H-hai."

"Great, now I can get those girls off my back," Syaoran sighed with relief. Sakura giggled.

"Oyasumi, Syaoran-kun."

"Ah, oyasumi," Syaoran answered back.

That night...

_'Hoe? Where am I?' Sakura thought as she glanced around. She was standing in the middle of an almost empty room that had no windows or doors. The only thing in it was a four-poster bed. She took a step forward. Suddenly, the room erupted into flames. Sakura widened her eyes and took a step back. How? There was nothing in the room that would ignite a fire! She coughed, the thick smoke from the fire entering her lungs. No, she couldn't die here! The flames licked and crackled around her. She fell to her knees, covering her nose and mouth with a hand. Tears filled her eyes at the thought that she would perish alone in this empty room. Her hand went to her neck, but to her surprise, her Star Key was not there! Where was it? _

_"HELP!" she cried out hoarsely. "SOMEONE HELP ME!" As she began to lose consciousness, she saw another figure on the opposite side of the room, staring at her with red eyes. Her eyelids slowly closed as exhaustion took over her fragile body. Before she completely succumbed to darkness, she murmured, "Please...help...me..."_

Sakura woke up with a jolt, her eyes wide with fear and beads of cold sweat collecting on her forehead. She glanced around; she was still in her own bed, in the Hufflepuff dormitories. There was no fire or mysterious figures with red eyes anywhere.

"It was just a dream," she murmured, but that didn't sit well with her. Her dreams were never ordinary dreams, and always indicated that something was going to happen. She laid back down and tried to go back to sleep, but found out she couldn't, not after that terrible nightmare. She climbed out of bed and slipped into her slippers. While it was against the rules, perhaps going outside would help. Peeking her head out of the exit of the Hufflepuff Common Room, she checked to make sure Filch wasn't anywhere in sight before coming out completely. She then carefully made her way down the hallway towards the door that would lead out to the courtyard. Checking over her shoulder once more to make sure the coast was clear, she pushed open the door leading out to the courtyard and slipped out. Hugging her arms close to her body for warmth, she let out a worried sigh as she strolled on, coming to a stop in front of a fountain situated in the middle of the courtyard. She then glanced up at the sky and closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath, then slowly let her breath out. Suddenly, she felt something clamped down on one of her shoulders. Frightened, Sakura let out a terrified cry, only for her cries to suddenly become silenced. At once, she realized that someone had cast a Silencing Charm on her. Slowly glancing over her shoulder, she sighed in relief when she saw it was just Damian, one of the Slytherins. Thank god it was just him! She then smiled, remembering how the same thing happened with her and Syaoran at the beach 6 years ago.

"This well may be the first time I've ever seen a Hufflepuff disobeying school rules," Damian smirked.

Sakura tilted her head to one side, confused. What did Damian mean by that? Wasn't he new to the school, too, like she was? Since she was still under the effects of the Silencing Charm, she couldn't verbally ask him what he meant. Damian knew this, too, and lifted the spell from the girl. Rather than asking the question she wanted to ask, she instead asked,

"What are you doing out here? I mean, you shouldn't be out here either."

Damian turned away from her so that she was looking at his side profile. "I don't care for silly school rules."

Sakura tilted her head to one side, staring at him in wonder. "Hoee..." She then turned away. "Um, well, I'm going back in. I just came out here to get some fresh air since I couldn't sleep. I think I'm okay now," she said to the Slytherin boy as she turned around and walked towards the door leading into the castle. But she only got in a few steps before she felt fingers close around her wrists. In surprise, she looked up at Damian and was surprised to see him with an even bigger smirk on his features.

"You're bluffing, Kinomoto," he remarked a little too calmly.

Sakura forced out a laugh. "Ahaha...and how would you know if I was telling the truth or not?"

"I can see the fear in your eyes," he murmured, taking another step closer to her, still holding onto her wrist and looking intently into her eyes. Sakura gulped and tried to look away, but found that she was unable to. Why couldn't she look away? Damian leaned in closer until his lips were next to her left ear. Sakura stiffened at the closeness, but her eyes went wide and her body trembled when she heard what he had to say next.

"And the rest of the school doesn't know, but I know your real identity...Cardmistress."

Sakura quickly turned her head to face him, her emerald eyes meeting his dark ones. "How did you figure it out?" she whispered.

"I caught you making new cards one day. Naturally I put two and two together," Damian said nonchalantly as he drew away.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "But I didn't sense or see anyone else besides Syaoran-kun there at all that day! How could..." She then widened her eyes. "Unless you..."

"Figured out how to mask my aura? Yes, Kinomoto, I did," Damian said huskily. He then glanced at her hand and noticed that the edge of her hand was red and burnt. "Is that a burn?"

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Hoe?" She glanced at the hand Damian was looking at and widened her eyes. Sure in fact, there was burn marks along the side of her hand where her pinky was. She remembered her nightmare, and gulped. So not only did the flames affect her in the dream, but it also affected her in real life as well.

"The flames from my nightmares," she murmured, looking at her hand incredulously. She shook her head. "I can't believe they affected me physically..." She now knew for sure that what she dreamt was not ordinary. Dreams weren't supposed to harm victims in the waking world! Subsconsciously, without being aware of it, she began to describe her dream to Damian.

"I was...in this large empty room. There was nothing in it except a bed. There were no windows or doors, so I was trapped. Suddenly the room erupted into flames. I couldn't do anything." She took a breath. Damian said nothing.

"I tried to use magic...but I didn't have my wand with me. Then I collapsed from smoke inhalation and exhaustion. The last thing I remember seeing before I fell unconscious in the dream and woke up in my own bed was a figure in the corner of the room. He was staring at me with red eyes, not moving. He was just watching me..."

She broke out of her daze and shook her head from side to side. "Ah, sorry about that," she apologized, smiling sheepishly. "I shouldn't have rambled on about matters you don't care about, and it's not we're friends yet or anything." She laughed nervously. "But um, could you please let go of my wrist? I'm really..." What she was about to say, no one would ever know, because the next thing she knew, she felt as if her body was lighter, her head tilting back as her knees collapsed under her and her eyelids slowly drooped closed.

The next morning...

Sakura moaned lightly as she stirred. Her eyelids opened halfway, allowing light in. Her vision, blurry at first, eventually focused. Where was she? With a jolt, she sat up and glanced around frantically. Where was she? She didn't remember going back to the Hufflepuff dormitories last night.

"Oh relax dear, you're in the Hospital Wing," an elderly woman wearing a black dress and a white medical apron assured. Sakura immediately recognized her as Madam Pomfrey.

Sakura blinked in confusion. "Hospital Wing? How did I end up here?"

"Oh, Mr. Roth told me that he heard a noise outside and found you in the courtyard. Whatever were you doing out there? It's against school rules to be out of bed!" Madam Pomfrey scolded.

Sakura's cheeks turned red. "Um...I sometimes sleepwalk," she fibbed. "Especially when I have dreams where I'm chasing after something...and I must have had one of those dreams last night. Hehe...I guess I didn't return to my bed last night...usually I do." She hoped that Madam Pomfrey would buy her excuse. After all, anything could happen when one sleepwalks...right?

"Did you also sleepwalk into the fireplace or something?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "You had a nasty burn on your hand."

Sakura laughed nervously. "Um...maybe."

"Well, that's nothing that a simple potion can't fix," Madam Pomfrey declared as she drew herself up to her full height. "Now stay put while I go fetch it."

Sakura nodded obediently. She watched as Madam Pomfrey went over to a cabinet and took out a potion, then walked back to her.

"Alright dear, drink a little bit of this," the nurse commanded.

Sakura looked at the bottle as if it was poison. "What?" she asked, not believing her ears.

"Goodness, child, did you also get a concussion when you passed out last night?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "I said to drink this!"

"You mean...straight from the bottle? I don't get a glass of water or anything?" Sakura asked weakly.

Madam Pomfrey looked like she was about to lose her patience. "Drinking this with a glass of water wouldn't make it very effective," she said. "Don't worry, it tastes like grape."

"That's what they all say," Sakura murmured, but took the potion from Madam Pomfrey anyway. She scrunched her face up as she quickly took a swig of the potion, then drew it away from her lips after a gulp. As soon as she swallowed, she coughed. That was nasty! However, she felt her hand tingling at the same time. Holding up the hand that had the burn on it, she watched, fascinated, as the burn on her hand slowly faded away and disappeared. Before she knew it, her hand looked normal again, as if she had never had the dream and gotten burnt in the first place.

"Sugoi!" she gasped, then bowed her head graciously. "Um, thank you!"

Madam Pomfrey smiled graciously. "You're welcome, Miss Kinomoto."

"So, can I go now?" Sakura asked.

"Yes you may. You seem well-rested now," Madam Pomfrey said before turning away and leaving.

Sakura beamed. "Thank you!" She then climbed out of bed, slipping her feet into her slippers before leaving the Hospital Wing.


	13. Nonverbal Spells

Chapter 13: Nonverbal Spells

As soon as Sakura stepped foot outside the Hospital Wing, her path was suddenly blocked by a familiar brown haired boy. He gripped her by the shoulders and shook her harshly, but also gently at the same time.

"Sakura, are you alright? You're not hurt are you?" Syaoran shouted, fear and worry evident in his amber eyes.

Sakura was initially surprised, then smiled cheerfully at him. "I'm okay," she assured him. "You don't have to worry anymore, Syaoran-kun."

"How did you end up outside anyway?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura took a deep breath and sighed; she knew lying to Syaoran wouldn't be a good idea, as he was able to see through her facades. Since she was generally a cheerful person, anyone could notice when she wasn't being her usual cheerful self. And so for the next five minutes, she explained her nightmare to Syaoran and how it had manifested itself to the waking world as a burn on her hand, how she went outside for fresh air at the risk of being caught, how she ran into Damian who was also breaking the rules, how Damian found out about her being the Cardmistress the day she created The Teleport, and how she suddenly passed out without knowing what happened. Syaoran stiffened and narrowed his eyes the moment Sakura revealed that Damian now knew about her secret.

"So he knows now, huh?" he murmured. "Dammit! Out of all the people who could potentially find out, it just had to be him. I don't trust him one bit."

Sakura nodded, but had a worried look on her face. "You don't think hes gonna tell on me, is it? I mean, it makes sense that the teachers know, but the other students..."

"Don't worry, we won't let it get that far. I'm going to make sure that it stays a secret, and that he doesn't blab it to his sister," Syaoran said firmly.

Sakura smiled. "Thanks, Syaoran-kun."

"Um, you better get ready for class," Syaoran said, taking a step back and glancing off to the side. "Defense Against the Dark Arts starts in 5 minutes."

Sakura nodded. "Okay. I'll see you there." She then turned on her heels and ran down the flight of stairs down to the ground floor. Syaoran watched her retreating back for a bit, then glared at the corner of the wall. "How long do you plan to keep on spying on us?"

"So you sensed me," Damian sneered as he and Regina stepped out from their hiding place.

Syaoran smirked. "Unlike you witches and wizards, I've been formally trained in magic since I was 4 years old. Detecting hidden presences was part of my training when I was seven." His smirk then turned into a frown as he glared at the taller, dark haired teen in front of him.

"You had something to do with Sakura's condition, didn't you?" he accused.

The corners of Damian's lips curved upward into a dark smile. "And what if I did?"

Syaoran growled and rushed forward, fiercely grabbing onto Damian's cloak. His face was close to Damian's as he snarled, "If you hurt Sakura, I swear I won't let you live!"

"SYAORAN-KUN!" a voice rang out. Syaoran widened his eyes, then glanced over to the side to see Sakura standing there, already changed into her school uniform. She stared at the two boys with wide eyes before narrowing her eyes at Syaoran.

"Release him, Syaoran-kun."

"Ehhh? But-" Syaoran began.

"I said release him," Sakura said firmly. "He had nothing to do with this. If it wasn't for Roth-kun, I would've woken up in the courtyard."

"But then why did you suddenly collapse in the courtyard?" Syaoran demanded. "Why didn't you go back to bed?"

Sakura shrugged as she rubbed the back of her head, a nervous habit of hers. "Ahahaha...That, I don't know. Perhaps I just grew extremely tired and collapsed. But I'm telling you, I don't think Roth-kun is guilty here." The corners of her lips curved up into a soft smile. "Please believe me."

Syaoran stared at her long and hard, looking for any signs of hidden emotion behind her green eyes, but they held nothing but kindness and warmth in them. Finally, after what felt like an agonizing ten seconds, he sighed.

"Alright, I'll believe you."

Sakura broke into a grin as she threw her arms around his neck in an embracing hug. "Yay! Now come on, let's go to class! I wonder what Eriol-kun will be teaching us this time!"

Syaoran chuckled as Sakura unwrapped her arms from around his neck. "As much as I can't stand him, the sneaky, conniving bastard, don't you think it'd be more proper to refer to him as Hiiragizawa-sensei?"

Sakura smiled sheepishly. "Ah, right. But since he asked me to call him Eriol, I wonder if Eriol-sensei would be fine."

Syaoran shrugged. "Do as you like."

Sakura nodded. "Okay. Ah, we should hurry up!" She grabbed hold of Syaoran's wrist and dashed forward, pulling him behind her in her dash to get to the DADA classroom in time. As he ran behind her, Syaoran wondered why she was rushing. After all, the person teaching the class was one of their childhood friends; it wasn't like Hiiragizawa was going to put them in detention for being late to his class. Damian and Regina, on the other hand, hadn't moved much from where they had been standing when they had a mini face-off with Syaoran before Sakura interrupted. They were already experienced in non-verbal spells; they didn't need to go to a class taught by someone who looked their age. They would risk the detention.

"That girl sickens me," Regina gagged. "She's too bright and bubbly. I would like to cast the Cruciatus Curse on her, see if she can still smile after that."

Damian turned and walked away as he spoke coldly, "Do as you like."

Regina smirked; oh, she was going to have some fun with the cherry blossom. Damian, on the other hand, briefly wondered why Sakura put so much trust in him and why she believed he was innocent, even though her fainting in front of him was supposed to have been questionable. He had, after all, silently used a verbal spell to force her to fall asleep and then used a locomotion spell to carry her body to the Hospital Wing, where he had used his charm to tell Madam Pomfrey a fabricated story on how Sakura ended up in such a state and how he had been the one to find her. She had the ability to detect auras, after all. Surely she could have sensed when he had used a spell on her. And yet she still defended him. But why?

Meanwhile, in DADA, Eriol stood in front of the class just as Sakura and Syaoran slipped in.

"Nice for you to join us," Eriol said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Shut up and just start the lesson," Syaoran growled.

"Now now, is that anyway to treat your professor?" Eriol teased.

Syaoran just folded his arms.

"Alright class, today we are going to be learning non-verbal spells. Can anyone tell me what nonverbal spells are?"

Rose raised her hand. "A nonverbal spell is a spell that is cast wordlessly."

"Very good, Miss Weasley," Eriol nodded. "5 points to Ravenclaw. Unlike verbal spells that you're all used to, nonverbal spells are more advanced and therefore, more difficult. They require a great deal of concentration and mental discipline; without either of these, your nonverbal spells will not work. Can anyone tell me an advantage of a nonverbal spell?"

Sakura slowly raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Sakura?"

"Um...the enemy can't predict your next move?"

Eriol smiled. "Very good. 5 points to Hufflepuff. Now what about the disadvantages?"

Syaoran did not raise his hand as he spoke, "The effects of spells may be reduced when casted nonverbally than if they were to be casted verbally. For example, if a dark wizard used a dangerous curse nonverbally, the effects of the curse may be reduced."

Eriol nodded again. "That's a possibility, Mr. Li." He then smirked. "However, my cute little descendant, please raise your hand next time."

Syaoran's face turned red. He felt like steam was pouring out of his ears as he snapped, "Don't call me that, you four-eyed freak!"

"Now now, is that anyway to treat your teacher?" Eriol asked, grinning from ear to ear as if he hadn't a care in the world. He then directed his attention to the rest of the class. "Please excuse the dramatics. Anyway, for the rest of this class period, and for the next several weeks, we will be practicing nonverbal spells. We will start with simple spells and then work our way up to more advanced spells. Now, everyone pair up. To make this more interesting, I would like it if everyone paired up with someone they don't already know, and that someone must be from a different House."

Everyone groaned, as they had planned on pairing up with a friend before Eriol told them to find someone from another House they didn't know. Sakura gave Syaoran a sad smile before looking around for someone she didn't know. She already knew Al and Rose, despite the two being from a different House than her, so she couldn't pair up with either of them. She then spotted a Ravenclaw boy who didn't have a partner and went over to him.

"Hi, I'm Sakura!" she said cheerfully.

"Evan," the boy replied.

"Is everyone partnered up?" Eriol asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Alright, now you lot start practicing! I don't want any physical injuries today, got it? First, I want you all to start with a simple Disarming Charm."

"Okay!" Sakura said cheerfully, then turned to face her partner Evan. "So do you want to start first or should I start?"

"You can start first," Evan answered. "Though I'm surprised our professor is letting you learn nonverbal spells already. This is advanced magic and this is only your first year here, no matter how much magical training you may have in Asia."

Sakura smiled ruefully. Holding her wand out in front of her, she concentrated on disarming the wand in Evans' hand. She wanted to show him that she was capable of performing nonverbal spells!

_Expelliarmus! _she thought, concentrating hard on the spell and on making Evan's wand fly out of his hand. She could feel a surge of magical energy coursing through her blood, passing from her fingers into the wand and out the tip. She could sense the magic wrapping itself around her temporary partner's wand, making it wobble and threaten to be pulled out of his hand. She saw it slipping...slipping...but that was it. In her excitement she had broken her mental concentration, nulling the nonverbal Disarming Charm. The magic dissipated, no longer surrounding Evan's wand.

"Well, looks like it's my turn," Evan chuckled_, _then aimed his wand at hers. Sakura was quite shocked when Evan disarmed her in less than 10 seconds. As she gave him a shocked look, Evan just shrugged. Sakura blew a strand of hair out of her face as she went to go retrieve her wand so that she could have another go at it.

* * *

"Sakura-san, may I speak with you for a second?" Eriol asked after class had ended and the rest of the students had left.

Sakura nodded. "Um, sure. What is it about?"

"In addition to your studies, I'd like to work with you on improving your magic," he said.

Syaoran frowned. "You've said before that Sakura is the strongest magician in the world. What more do you want her to do?"

"True, Sakura-san is the strongest magician," Eriol confirmed, "However, she still uses her wand to activate the Cards, does she not? Clow Reed himself did not use a staff when he summoned the cards, and considering Sakura-san is 15 now and much stronger now, I believe she is ready to learn how to summon the Cards without using her staff."

"But where can she learn without-" Syaoran began, but then cut off when he realized that there was, in fact, a secret place where Sakura could learn how to use the Cards without activating her staff: the Room of Requirement. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows together, a befuddled expression on her face.

"Hoe? Syaoran-kun, what are you talking about?" she asked.

"The Room of Requirement," Syaoran explained. "It's a secret room that only reveals itself to those in most need. It's located on the seventh floor near the Headmistress' office. It's a perfect place for us to use our magic without being seen or caught by the other students."

Eriol nodded. "Right. We'll start training tonight after dinner. Now go off to your next class."

Sakura smiled. "See you later, Eriol-kun!"

"Oh, I forgot. Sakura-san, I know that we are friends, but in class, you should refer to me as Hiiragizawa-sensei," Eriol said, smiling.

Sakura nodded. "Okay!" She then looked at Syaoran. "Come on, let's hurry to our next class!"

Syaoran nodded; together, the two of them ran off to their Transfiguration class. Eriol watched their retreating backs with a smile, but as soon as they were out of sight, his smile vanished and was replaced by a frown as his eyes narrowed.

"It's no use trying to hide," Eriol spoke, turning away from the door and walking over to his desk. "I know you were there, listening in on everything." He slightly turned his head so that he could see over his shoulder via his peripheral vision. "I could assign you detention for not attending my class, but I won't do that. Instead, I'll just subtract 25 points from Slytherin House as a result of your insubordination."

Damian smirked as he entered the classroom. "You think you're so clever, _professor_. How did you know I was there?"

Eriol smiled as he turned to face the boy. "I know a thing or two about tracking auras."

"I had mine hidden."

"That may be so, but the moment I had a private talk about Sakura and Li, I sensed your aura again. You may have mastered the art of hiding your aura, but you have not mastered how to control your aura and keep it from flaring out spontaneously." Eriol then folded his arms. "How much did you hear?"

Damian's gaze remained icy as he stared Eriol down. "Everything."

"So you know about Sakura-chan."

"Yes."

"How long have you known?" Eriol narrowed his eyes. "This isn't the first time that you've heard about how special Sakura is, is it?"

Damian smirked. "I admit, I was a little surprised when I found out that she was the legendary Cardmistress."

"And yet you did not do anything," Eriol said with an eerily calm smile. "Why is that, I wonder? After all, as the Cardmistress, Sakura-san is the most powerful magician in the entire world. You don't ordinarily let someone more powerful than you live, Mr. Roth...or should I say Voldemort?"

Damian widened his eyes a little; how did this new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor know? There was no way for the professor to know about his true identity, as Eriol wasn't born during the time Voldemort was alive, and therefore, no way to know what Voldemort looked like, either as a child or adult. Eriol smiled; he knew that he would expect this reaction from Damian.

"So I was right. You really are Voldemort," he said calmly as if the two of them were just discussing the weather over a cup of tea. "Or perhaps you are his reincarnation, though I can't see how that would be possible. Your original soul was severed into 8 pieces, right? Seven in the horcruxes, the original in you, for a total of eight."

Damian growled as he withdrew his wand and aimed the tip of it at Eriol. "How did you find out?"

Eriol smiled cheerfully. "A little birdy told me. Well that, and I had my suspicions from that very first day at the Sorting that you were not who you appeared to be. Your aura was different from everyone else's. Yours was the only one that lacked any warmth to it. It was the only one that radiated darkness from it. I knew something was up, so I made a trip to the Headmaster's office. Have you ever been to the Headmaster's office during your real time here, Damian? Back when you were actually a student?"

Damian clenched his teeth and gripped his wand tighter in anger; so Eriol must have spoken to Dumbledore. Of course, even if the headmaster died, he would still continue to live on in a portrait. The Headmaster's Office was littered with several portraits of formerly deceased Headmasters and Headmistresses.

"Enough talk," he declared coldly. "What do you plan on doing with this information, _professor?_"

Eriol smiled. "For the time being, nothing." He then narrowed his eyes as his facial expression darkened. "But just know that I'm keeping an eye on you, Mr. Roth, and your 'sister'. You may go."

Damian's eyes flashed as he glared coldly at Eriol before turning and walking out. Eriol watched the angry Slytherin storm out, then went back to his desk. "If you ever hurt Sakura-san, it's not me you'll be answering to," he spoke softly, "But him."


	14. The Training and the Nightmare

Chapter 14: The Training and the Nightmare

Sakura stared at the large wall before her, her green eyes holding a quizzical look to them. This was the seventh floor, all right, but where was the Room of Requirement that Eriol had talked about? There was nothing there except the wall. Rocking back and forth on her heels, she frowned a little.

"Hoee...Eriol-kun said the Room of Requirement would be here," she murmured.

"It is, but you have to walk back and forth in front of that wall three times while thinking of the reason why you want to use the Room of Requirement," Syaoran replied as he walked up beside her. "Watch." He began to pace back and forth in front of the large wall with his hands folded behind his back while looking like he was deep in thought. Sakura didn't see anything happen at first, but then she noticed that a large door was materializing from the large wall space. Her eyes widened; so the Room of Requirement did exist! As soon as the door had fully materialized, Syaoran turned and smiled at a gaping Sakura.

"Careful there, you're gonna get drool all over yourself," he teased. "Now shall we go in?"

Sakura quickly closed her mouth and blushed. "Y-yes," she squeaked out. "Ne, Syaoran, what exactly did you think anyway?"

Syaoran grabbed the handle of the large door and pulled it open, then stepped aside to let Sakura in first. "What did I think of to make the Room of Requirement appear? Just that we need a place for you to train without anyone else seeing."

Sakura nodded in amazement as she stepped through, followed by Syaoran. "Wow! As expected of you, Syaoran!"

"You dropped the honorifics," Syaoran noted with surprise.

Sakura nodded while blushing and pressing her two index fingers together. "Well, we are really close, and we are dating each other, s-so..."

Syaoran nodded back, his face also red.

"And here we see my cute little descendant and my cute little heiress in their natural habitat," a mischievous voice teased.

Sakura and Syaoran spun around to see a happy-looking blue-black haired boy with glasses beaming back at them. Syaoran turned even redder while Sakura sputtered,

"E-Eriol-kun!"

"Konbanwa, Sakura-san, Li-kun," Eriol replied. "Did you two have a good dinner?"

Sakura nodded cheerfully. "Yes, I did!"

Syaoran scowled as he shrugged and looked away.

"Well, shall we get started?" Eriol asked, still smiling.

Sakura and Syaoran nodded. Sakura's hand traveled up to her neck, where she reached past the collar of her shirt to grasp a small chain hanging around her neck. She pulled it out, a key with a star in the center of a circlet resting in the palm of her hand. Holding her hand out in front of her, she concentrated while chanting as her magic circle materialized beneath her feet,

"Key that holds the power of the stars, reveal your true form before me! I, Sakura, command you under our contract! RELEASE!"

A burst of magical energy shot up from the perimeter of the circle, swirling violently around Sakura and her hovering key. In less than 5 seconds, her key was replaced by a long pink staff while the circlet and star still remained.

"Now, Sakura, your first training will be to learn how to call the cards nonverbally," Eriol instructed. "And then once you've mastered that, we will go on to training you how to use the cards nonverbally and without the staff."

Sakura nodded with determination in her eyes.

"Also, you will be fighting Li-kun," Eriol said. "I will be here to instruct you."

Sakura and Syaoran both looked at him with surprise. "EHHH?!"

"It's good for you, Sakura-san," Eriol said. "Li-kun already knows how to use his magic without having to use his ofudas. I do have to warn you, Sakura, that conjuring the cards nonverbally will take up more energy from you than if you were to verbally call on them, but I'm sure you'll be fine."

Sakura nodded, but she still looked unsure of herself. She looked at Syaoran. "Please don't go easy on me," she told him. "I want this training to be worthwhile."

Syaoran nodded. "Alright." Making a fist with one hand, he slammed it against the open palm of his other hand, then drew his hands apart to reveal a sword, as if he was producing a sword from thin air. He held up one hand with all fingers folded except his index and middle finger. "Kashin shourai!" he shouted as his arm went out to the side, his index and middle fingers still up as a thin stream of flames resembling a rope spiraled out from the tip of his fingers and towards Sakura.

"Now Sakura, think about the card you want to use!" Eriol called out as Sakura jumped out of the flaming rope's way. "Remember what you've learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts today! Keep your mind completely focused or else it won't work! Don't fret if you can't get it the first time!"

"Right!" Sakura said, then focused her attention.

_Come on, you can do it,_ Syaoran thought encouragingly as he watched Sakura run and jump to avoid his attack.

Sakura kept on running as Syaoran's fire attack kept on trying to attack her. _Let's try a simple card...Jump! _she thought. However, nothing happened.

"You need to concentrate harder, Sakura-san!" Eriol called out.

"Okay!"

"Raitei shourai!" Syaoran shouted, switching up the attack from fire-based to lightning-based. This time, bolts of lightning jumped around the room towards his girlfriend, striking the ground wherever she stood.

Sakura jumped and dodged, but her luck of dodging the attacks without harm ended when one of the bolts hit her right foot.

"Ahh!" she yelped out.

"Sakura!" Syaoran shouted. He was about to end the attack when Eriol shook his head. "No. Sakura-san will be fine."

"But-!"

"Syaoran-kun, Eriol-kun is right. I won't be able to improve if we give up now!" Sakura called to him. She then held the staff tightly in her hands and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath in, she slowly let her breath out to mentally calm herself down. Mental discipline...she needed mental discipline for all this to work. With her eyes still closed and her hands still tightly grasping the Star Wand, she thought about the card she wanted to use. She could see the outline of a card forming within her mind, but the focus was still unclear. She concentrated harder, her scrunched eyebrows causing wrinkles to appear on her forehead. At this point, Sakura could no longer hear anything going on in the outside world; it was just her and her mind. Slowly but surely, the blurry outline of a card began to get sharper and clearer, until Sakura could see the card perfectly in her mind. The Shield.

_Shield, deflect Syaoran's attack,_ she thought. _Please. _

She then opened her eyes just as a protective red bubble enveloped her in time before one of Syaoran's lightning attacks could hit her. The lightning bolt bounced off the shield harmlessly and fizzled out. Syaoran stopped his lightning attack and grinned at her.

"Nice work, Sakura!"

"Thanks!" Sakura yelled back, looking extremely happy. She had done it, she had managed to call upon one of her cards without yelling the name out!

"Good job, Sakura-san," Eriol praised. "Now let's up the ante a little, shall we?"

Sakura tilted her head in confusion. "Eh?"

Eriol's smile turned into a smirk as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his own key. "Release," he said calmly. Within seconds, his key had transformed into a large sun staff. Without even saying a word, his sun staff glowed.

Syaoran suddenly found his body moving unwillingly as he took a step towards Sakura. Without warning, he swung his sword at Sakura, who cried out in shock as she stumbled backwards to avoid getting slashed by him, only to have the tip of his sword slice into her school uniform.

"OI, HIIRAGIZAWA, WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?!" Syaoran snapped while he unwillingly swiped at Sakura with his sword.

Eriol just simply smiled. "We can't have the training be easy, can we? What will Sakura-san do if she is attacked by the ones she loves? These kinds of situations will also make it much harder to use nonverbal spells."

_Eriol-kun is right! _Sakura thought. _If I can't face Syaoran-kun like this, how will I be able to mentally call on a card in difficult situations? Calm down, Sakura, and think! _Sakura allowed her mental state to relax so that she was no longer worrying about Syaoran. If it was just like last time, and Syaoran was controlled by threads invisible to the naked eye, then all she would need is the Sword Card.

"By the way Sakura-san, unlike last time, there are no threads controlling Li-kun," Eriol added. "I'm controlling his actions with my magic. Good luck."

Syaoran cursed.

"Hoeeee!" Sakura cried out, her attention suddenly becoming unfocused at this new piece of info. That meant she couldn't use the Sword to free Syaoran! She shook her head from side to side to erase negative thoughts from her mind. She had to stay focused! Her eyes were filled with determination as she backflipped away just as Syaoran made another unwarranted jab at her.

"Hurry!" Syaoran shouted at her, trying his hardest to stop himself as he jumped over to where she was.

_Something...there must be a card I can use to stop Syaoran..._ Sakura thought as she ran. She suddenly found herself backed up against a corner, and Syaoran was coming straight for her! His eyes were wide with fear as his hand unwillingly thrust the sword in her direction. Sakura met his wide eyes with her own before she clenched her eyes shut. With all the magical energy she could muster, she yelled out one word in her mind as she held her staff out in front of her.

_TIME! STOP SYAORAN'S MOVEMENTS! _

Suddenly, everything in the room came to a standstill as a card flew out of Sakura's pocket and above her staff. Even Syaoran, who was usually unaffected by time, was frozen in the time by the card. The only people who weren't affected was Eriol, who was foreseeing her training. Meanwhile, Sakura took the opportunity to hit Syaoran's wrist with the side of her hand to make him drop his sword, the same way she had done when Rika had fallen victim to the Sword Card back when it was a rogue Clow Card. At the moment the sword fell out of his hand and clattered to the floor, time resumed again. Syaoran looked down at his hands in surprise, flexing his wrists and wriggling his fingers, before looking at his sword on the ground and Sakura smiling tiredly but cheerfully at him.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I should be the one asking you that," Syaoran said. He then whirled around to give Eriol his most deadliest glares. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?!"

Eriol just smiled. "I thought it would be good motivation for Sakura-san."

"By having me nearly try to KILL her?" Syaoran snapped.

Sakura laughed nervously as she held two hands up in front of her defensively. "Calm down, Syaoran! I'm fine, you know."

"Would you rather I transform this entire room into a battlefield with dragons?" Eriol asked.

"N-No, b-but-" Syaoran stammered.

Sakura gently placed a hand on his arm. "Syaoran, I'm fine. Really. Besides, I managed to use two cards nonverbally, didn't I?"

Syaoran nodded, his eyes traveling down to her hand that was resting on his arm. No matter how many times she touched him, it always made his skin tingle. He loved the feel of her soft skin on his. Without realizing it, Syaoran found himself staring at Sakura. How long could he stare at this beautiful being? Before long, his trance was broken when his girlfriend reached up with her other hand and lightly pressed it against his forehead.

"Syaoran, are you okay? You don't seem sick," she asked with concern after checking to see if his forehead was hot.

Syaoran turned beet red; how long had he been staring at Sakura in a stupid, trance-like way? He hadn't done that since he was 11! Shaking his head, he stammered, "I-I'm fine. It's nothing!"

Eriol let out an amused cough that indicated that he knew Syaoran was lying. Syaoran growled, his hands curling into fists. He wanted nothing more than to wipe that stupid annoying smile off the Clow Reed reincarnation's face.

"Well, I think that's enough for today," Eriol said authoritatively. "You two should head on back to your Common Rooms. If Filch catches you, just tell him that you were with me."

Sakura nodded. "Okay. Good night, Eriol-kun!"

"The same to you," Eriol replied. His eyes shifted over to Syaoran. "You too."

Syaoran just gave a loud 'hmph' as he walked past Eriol, his nose up in the air. Sakura stared at his retreating back with disbelief, then shook her head. Syaoran was never going to let the rivalry between him and Eriol die, was he? She followed her boyfriend out, but not before glancing over her shoulder at Eriol and mouthing "Sorry about that" to him. Eriol just smiled back, indicating that he didn't take Syaoran's rudeness to heart.

When the two left the Room of Requirement, the first thing they noticed was that it was dark. Very dark. There weren't any hall lights either, so a student wandering out of bed without a light to guide him or her would most certainly be in big trouble.

"Lumos," Syaoran said quietly as he took out his wand. The tip glowed, giving off a soft blue light. Sakura followed Syaoran's actions and took out her own wand, with which she also used the Lumos spell.

"I wish I could use Glow," she admitted.

"But you know we have to keep your magic secret. Well...that's moot now that Roth found out about it," Syaoran said, his tone getting bitter when he said Damian's surname. Sakura nodded, a worried expression crossing her face as the two of them made their way down the first flight of stairs towards the sixth floor.

"Do you think he'll tell?" she asked worriedly.

"He isn't the sociable type, from what I've noticed. He mostly keeps to himself," Syaoran pointed out. "He doesn't interact with any of us. So...there's a good chance he might not tell anyone. However, we should keep an eye out, just in case. Both on him and his sister. I don't trust the two of them. I get a bad feeling from them, do you?"

Sakura nodded. "But I don't want to believe they're bad." Now they were descending another flight of stairs down to the fifth floor. As they passed by the portraits, some of them grumbled,

"Put that light out! I'm trying to sleep here!" Sakura found all this amusing, yet spooky at the same time. Even though she knew that the portraits were just enchanted, she still couldn't get used to it. She couldn't help but liken the enchanted portraits to haunted portraits, and due to her immense ghost phobia, it was rather unsettling. Still, though, having Syaoran next to her side definitely helped some.

Syaoran chuckled. "You're always so positive, Sakura. I think that's why I fell in love with you."

Sakura blushed. "R-really?"

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah. Remember our first meeting?"

Sakura giggled. "You gave me such a harsh look that I thought I was going to die right there in my seat. And then there was the schoolyard incident..."

Syaoran slammed his forehead with the hand that wasn't holding the wand. "Ugh. Don't remind me. I'm so sorry about that, I was a stupid ten year old who didn't care about anything else but getting the Clow Cards. I did not know the true meaning of love or friendship when I first came to Japan."

"You made up for that by helping me later on, and by guiding me," Sakura told him gently. They were on the third floor now. It wouldn't be long now before they would reach the ground floor and then part ways, with Syaoran going to the dungeons to get to the Slytherin Common Room and Sakura going to the basement to access the Hufflepuff Common Room. Sakura looked thoughtfully up as they walked on.

"Do you think that will work on Roth-san?"

"Hmm?" Syaoran raised an eyebrow as he glanced at her. They stopped in their tracks.

Sakura fully turned to face him. "Do you think that if I continue to be really nice to him, he'll start to change?"

Syaoran coughed. "How am I supposed to know? I'm not him. But since when are you ever NOT warm and kind? Anyhow, if he ever DOES warm up to people, he better not fall in love with you, Sakura, or else I'll break his neck." His eyes burned fiercely at the thought of another guy looking at his girlfriend. Sakura just gave him a nervous laugh. They were about to continue on when they heard a grumpy yet familiar voice.

"You two! What do you think you're doing out of bed?!"

Syaoran whispered, "I'll take care of this" to Sakura, who nodded. Syaoran turned around and faced Filch, who was holding a lantern up with one hand.

"Good evening, Mr. Filch," Syaoran said, as if he was addressing his mother or another Li Clan family member. "You see, we were never in bed in the first place. We were in the Room of Requirement with Professor Hiiragizawa for some special training. If you have any doubts, Professor Hiiragizawa requested that you speak to him about it tomorrow morning as he would like to retire to bed now. We are currently on our way back to our Common Rooms, both Sakura and I."

Sakura was amazed at how calm and collected Syaoran sounded. If it were her, she would've stammered, which would have made them seem even more suspicious to Filch, even if they weren't doing anything wrong.

Filch studied Syaoran a long time, trying to decide if Syaoran was telling the truth or not. Not once during the stare-down did the brown-haired boy once wave. Finally, Filch grumbled, "Well then, hurry up, get back to bed."

Sakura turned around and bowed deeply in gratitude to Filch. "Thank you, ah, Filch-sa-I mean, Mr. Filch! Good night to you!"

Filch just grumbled as he turned around to continue his patrol of the Hogwarts grounds. Syaoran whispered to Sakura, "Quick, let's get out of here. We only have two more flights of stairs to go, anyway."

Sakura nodded. Together, the two of them raced down the last two remaining flights of stairs before reaching the ground floor.

"See you tomorrow morning," Sakura said cheerfully as she waved at him.

Syaoran nodded. "Ah. See you."

They parted ways. Syaoran descended the steps into the basement, then faced a large wall. He bitterly uttered the Slytherin password, hating how superficial all of their passwords were. A portion of the wall opened up from the inside to allow the Little Wolf entry. Syaoran stepped in and glanced around the calm yet eerie Common Room. As Syaoran loosened his tie so that he could take it off when he reached his bed chambers, a voice spoke out from behind him just as he got to where the couches and armchairs were.

"Back so late?"

Syaoran narrowed his eyes. Without turning around, he said bitterly, "If you want something, Roth, then do it tomorrow."

Damian smirked as he walked past Syaoran, then turned around to face the boy. "Actually, no. I can't wait."

"If this is about Sakura, I don't want to talk about it," Syaoran angrily snapped. "You just stay the hell away from her, understand? By the way, don't try to use any restraining spells on me to try to keep me here. I know how to break them, no matter how they're casted, courtesy of Li Clan training." He then brushed past Damian, whose eyes were wide with shock and anger. No one, NO ONE dared speak to him like that! He watched with flashing eyes as Syaoran retreated to his bed chambers and closed the door behind him.

"We'll see about that, Syaoran Li," Damian said in a low, dangerous tone. "But let's see how your precious cherry blossom fares in her dreams tonight, shall we?" He then chuckled evilly.

_"Hello? Is anyone out there? Aaahh!" Sakura called out, then shrieked when a burst of flames suddenly shot up a few inches in front of her, narrowly missing her. If she had taken a step forward, there was no doubt she would have gotten burned, and then she would have had to resort to the old-school "stop, drop, and roll" method. It didn't take long before Sakura found herself surrounded by fire in the windowless, doorless room. This time the bed that had been in her first dream was missing. It was just her in her nightgown. The now frightened girl held one hand up against her chest while the other hand went up to her nose and mouth to cover them in order to prevent smoke inhalation from getting in. _

_"Hello?!" she called out, then yelped and turned away as some of the flames ferociously seemed to fan themselves towards her. Letting out a cough, she glanced over her shoulder through squinted eyes, which quickly widened when she saw the same figure from her other dream, with cold, red eyes looking back at her. As the figure was wearing a cloak with the hood up, Sakura couldn't tell exactly who it was. But slowly, the figure raised its arm, revealing long, slender yet bony fingers with long fingernails that grasped a long white wand. Sakura gulped; she got a bad feeling about this figure, but somehow, she couldn't look away. The figure's wand glowed. Without warning, Sakura found her feet moving of their own accord, against her own free will. No! Sakura panicked, trying to get herself to stop moving towards the strange figure that emitted an evil aura, but no matter what, she couldn't stop herself. _

_"Coooome," the figure rasped, uttering the first word that Sakura had ever heard from it, and from the tone of its voice, Sakura guessed that the figure must be male. When she was just a few inches away from him, her feet stopped in front of him. From up close, the figure seemed even more menacing. Sakura tried to move away, but found that this time, she couldn't move. It was like this cloaked figure was using some kind of nonverbal spell to keep her from moving, from running away. She watched, with dread, as the cloaked figure gave a high-pitched, evil laugh that lacked any warmth to it before raising its wand and pointing it towards her bosom. Sakura's emerald eyes widened. No, what was this figure going to do to her? A scream escaped her lips when she saw a light being produced from the tip of the wand. _

"Sakura, wake up! Sakura!"

Sakura woke up with a jolt, beads of cold sweat pouring down from her forehead. All the female Housemates were gathered around her bed, looking worriedly at her.

"It was just a dream?" Sakura murmured.

"You were screaming so loud, we thought you were dying," Margaret, one of her Housemates, pointed out. "Are you okay?"

Sakura nodded, trying her best to look cheerful. "Y-yeah. I think so." But deep down, she knew she wasn't alright.

Over in the Slytherin Common Room, Damian opened his eyes. "Next time, Cardmistress."


	15. You Don't Have to Pretend for Me

A/N: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura or Harry Potter. CCS belongs to CLAMP and Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. This is merely a crossover fanfic between CCS and the next generation of Hogwarts students, with some old familiar characters.

* * *

Chapter 15: You Don't Have to Pretend for Me

It was cold. Really cold. Cold enough that the frigid winter air stung the fingers, toes, and nose of any individual who happened to be outside without wearing the appropriate clothing. However, the cold temperature did not stop the students from coming out to the first Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff since the return from Christmas break. Floating on their brooms in the sky high above the other players, watching over their teammates' gameplay, were Sakura and James Potter, Seekers for their respective House. Standing on the pitch below was Draco Malfoy, the Potions professor, who was refereeing that day's Quidditch match. Sakura knew without a doubt that James was an excellent Seeker; it ran in his family. But she had one advantage over him: she could sense the location of the Snitch. Except for Damian, who mastered the art of detecting auras at an alarming rate, the others still didn't have as good of a magical sense like her, Syaoran, or Eriol.

While James' eyes carefully scanned the sky for a fleeting yellow blur that was the Snitch, the most prized possession in Quidditch that would determine which team won, Sakura concentrated on detecting its aura. To maximize her sensing abilities, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to tune into only her inner self, to ignore all the external factors going on. The roar and noise of the Quidditch match going on soon went away, until all Sakura could hear was the sound of her own breathing and heartbeat. She subconsciously reached out with her aura. Where was the Snitch? Wait, there! She could sense a tiny golden aura...right by the Gryffindor keeper. It buzzed around there for a moment, then flitted away the moment it detected that it had been found. Her eyes opened. James was still looking around for the Snitch. Sakura immediately made her broom do a nose-dive, a determined look on her face. James widened his eyes in surprise; how did the new transfer student find the Snitch faster than he? He hadn't seen the Snitch at all! He nose-dived, too, following Sakura. He was going to get that Snitch and win the game for Gryffindor!

Sakura glanced over her shoulder and saw James following after her. She narrowed her eyes, then turned her attention forward again, relying on her senses to track the movements of the Snitch. Ah, there it was, heading towards one of the goalposts on the Hufflepuff side! And just her luck, a Gryffindor Chaser was about to try to shoot the Quaffle into it, while the Hufflepuff Keeper cautiously eyed the Chaser and the Quaffle to make sure that it didn't go through. Sakura urged her broom to go faster as she flew directly towards the goalpost, the Chaser coming in perpendicular to her. The Quaffle was thrown...the Keeper extended his torso and arms to block the Quaffle from coming in...the Snitch flitted around between the Quaffle and the Snitch...

In the crowd of spectators, the audience gasped and held their breath. What was going to happen? Sakura gave out a loud cry as she went into the pathway of the Quaffle on its way towards the Hufflepuff goalpost, her small fingers closing around the flitting yellow Snitch. A roar erupted from the crowd from her house; Hufflepuff had won another Quidditch game! However, the Quaffle was still in motion, and Sakura was directly in its path, it crashed into her, causing her to be knocked off her broom.

"Hoeee!" she cried as she quickly grabbed onto her broom, which was still hovering in the air, with her free hand. She let out a sigh of relief; she had managed to grab it on time. Using her tumbling skills, she easily got back onto her broom, then waved the Snitch proudly in the air. She had done it!

"AND SAKURA KINOMOTO HAS CAPTURED THE SNITCH FOR 150 POINTS! HUFFLEPUFF WINS!" Gary Martin, a commentator from Gryffindor house, shouted above the roars of cheers and a few disappointed boos as Sakura proudly waved her arms in the air.

"Congratulations, Kinomoto," James said as they descended back towards the ground. "How did you see that Snitch anyway? I didn't even see it!"

Sakura smiled. "Secret!"

"What?" James looked at her with shock.

Sakura just continued to smile cheerfully at him, then did what no one expected her to do. As soon as she got close to the Slytherin stand and saw Syaoran, she leapt off her broom, her arms outstretched. Syaoran widened his eyes; not again! The last time Sakura pulled this reckless stunt was when she captured the Nothing, now known as the Hope, and that was several years ago! He thought Sakura would've wised up since then, but apparently not. He held his arms out in anticipation, ready to catch her. As soon as he stretched his arms out, Sakura landed into his arms, knocking him backward.

"Syaoran, I did it!" she said cheerfully while hugging him.

Syaoran smiled at her. "Yeah, you did."

Sakura then realized that both she and Syaoran were on the ground in a rather compromising position. Scorpius coughed. Regina and Damian looked away, both of them wearing an expression that read "I don't know these two lovesick idiots." Sakura blushed and quickly got off of Syaoran.

"S-sorry," she apologized.

Syaoran shook his head to indicate that he was fine. "But you should go celebrate with your House, Sakura."

Sakura nodded. "Okay." She ran down the flight of steps that would take her back down to the ground, all while wearing a cheerful smile on her face. Syaoran smiled serenely at her retreating back; he loved how Sakura could always manage to stay so positive, no matter what kinds of situations were thrown at her. It was like she never had those nightmares about the burning red room at all. Yet every time he saw burn marks on her, or heard about how she would wake up screaming, it pained his heart. Sakura didn't deserve any of that. He hated how he couldn't protect her in dreams. Not only was Sakura a gifted Cardmistress, she was a gifted dreamseer as well; she had the ability to predict future events in her dreams, and even if the outcome didn't exactly follow her dreams to a T, the events would still be similar anyway. And if Sakura kept getting nightmares about a burning red room and a mysterious cloaked man with red eyes...well, that was enough for him to worry.

The Hufflepuff Common Room, meanwhile, was in high spirits. As soon as Sakura entered, she was greeted with confetti, cheers, and a small light show produced from the wands of many of her fellow Housemates. A "hoeee!" escaped her lips when she felt herself suddenly being lifted up into the air.

"I can't believe we won! Sakura, you're the best Seeker ever!" Hugo cheered.

Sakura grinned. "I didn't do much, I just captured the Snitch!" she said modestly.

"Don't be so humble, Sakura," Roxanne, another Hufflepuff, said. "You won the match for us and that's what matters! This means that we get to challenge Slytherin next!" She then paused. "Oh wait, but your boyfriend's on the Slytherin team, right?"

Sakura nodded. "But we've both agreed before that we would play fair, remember? Besides, Scorpius-kun is the Seeker for Slytherin and Syaoran's a Beater, so we wouldn't cross paths during the game at all." She reached up and stretched, arching her back as she did so. Her arms then fell back to her sides. "Well then, I'm going to go shower." She walked away from the celebratory group towards her bedchambers first so that she could get a fresh change of clothes to take with her to the bathroom. In the showers, Sakura closed her eyes as she felt the hot water from the showerhead spray down upon her body, hitting her back. What a nice feeling! She proceeded to shampoo and condition her hair and scrub her body. Once she finished, she turned the water off and reached for her towel, which she used to towel-dry her hair with. She then dried her body before putting on her uniform and exiting the bathroom.

Over in the Slytherin Common Room, Syaoran sat on one of the couches directly facing the fireplace, with one arm draped over an armrest. A sigh escaped his lips as he closed his eyes. Since Hufflepuff had won this match, the next time a Quidditch game was going to be held, it would be his team against Sakura's. He didn't know why, but images of Sakura appeared in his mind.

_Syaoran-kun!_

_Syaoran-kun!_

_Syaoran-kun! _

Syaoran's eyes opened as he murmured, "Sakura..."

"Blimey, Li, is there ever a time when you aren't thinking about her?" Scorpius asked as he joined Syaoran on the couch, interrupting the little wolf from his thoughts. Syaoran initially turned red, then scowled as he stood up.

"Shut up, Malfoy."

"Now is that any way to treat a friend and fellow Housemate?" Scorpius smirked as he looked up at Syaoran's back. "By the way, has Sakura ever been to Hogsmeade before?"

Syaoran turned around to glance at the blonde-haired boy. He gave a shake of his head. "No. She hasn't gotten permission yet."

"That's too bad, then," Scorpius said. "I'm sure she would've loved it. We have a weekend excursion to Hogsmeade this weekend, after all." He stood up. "Today's match was exciting, wasn't it?"

Syaoran just nodded.

"But you know, we're up against Hufflepuff next match. Are you up for it?"

"Sakura and I had promised each other that we wouldn't let our feelings get in the way, even if its our teams competing for the coveted Quidditch Cup," Syaoran said matter-of-factly. Without another word, he left. At the same time that he was leaving the Slytherin Common Room, Damian and Regina were coming in. Syaoran pretended not to notice them, though his expression did harden as he passed them. He did not need to needlessly associate with the two of them. Regina glanced over her shoulder and gave Syaoran's back a haughty look.

"No hello?"

Syaoran stiffened, his scowl sinking deeper into his facial expression. If he scowled anymore, he was sure it would become permanent. He continued on without saying a word to Regina.

Damian, who didn't turn around to look at the Chinese boy, narrowed his eyes. "Foolish boy...love is weakness."

* * *

"You have one hour to complete your potion. You may begin," Professor Malfoy announced after giving a short lecture on the Draught of Peace, the potion they would be brewing that day. Immediately, the students started working on their potions. The time for free play was over. Sakura diligently worked on her potion, occasionally getting help from Syaoran or Rose if she didn't understand an instruction that was written on the board. Syaoran, of course, was the first to complete his Draught of Peace, which he bottled up and placed on Professor Malfoy's desk. Rose was the next to finish, then Damian, then Scorpius. Sakura was the last to finish brewing the difficult potion. Once everyone had finished brewing their potions, some of them failing at it and receiving a 0 on the assignment, Professor Malfoy dismissed the class. From there, Sakura went to Divination and Syaoran went to Arithmancy with Rose, their last class for the day before dinner. And after dinner, Sakura would have training with Eriol and Syaoran again. With each passing day of training, Sakura was slowly getting better at being able to mentally call on the cards and draw upon their powers. Though Sakura didn't want to acknowledge it, being the modest person she was, she was becoming more and more powerful. However, Sakura still saw herself as inexperienced, as someone who still needed to learn more.

After dinner, since Eriol had informed her and Syaoran that he would be cancelling their training session for the day to let them rest, Sakura made her way over to the Owlery, where all the owls belonging to the school and various students were kept, with two letters in her hand: one addressed to her father and Touya, and another addressed to Tomoyo. A musky smell greeted her nose and hooting greeted her ears as she entered the Owlery. She glanced around the Owlery to decide on which owl she wanted to send off. She knew that since Japan was very far from Europe, it would take her chosen owl days to get over there, and that it would need to make stops. Sakura eventually settled on a large Eagle Owl to send her letters. She fastened the letters with ribbon tightly to the owl's legs before letting it fly out the window, watching as it flapped its wings and flew away. Sakura stared at it until it disappeared into the horizon, out of her line of sight, before turning away from the window. She bid a goodnight to all the remaining owls in the Owlery before leaving, descending the long flight of stairs that looped around the tower.

_"This room again..." Sakura murmured quietly as she found herself in the burning red room again in her dream, windowless and doorless. There was no way for her to escape; she was trapped in here. Why was she getting this dream? What was different this time was that there were shackles bound to her wrists and ankles, with the chains going from the shackles going down to the ground so that she couldn't move from her spot. All around her, the flames licked and danced, a few coming close to her skin. Sakura struggled against the chains, but it was no use; she was trapped. Was it possible for someone who died in the dream world to also die in real life? For an ordinary Muggle, dying in the dream world usually meant an awakening in the physical realm, but for her, what happened in dreams could very much happen in real life. She collapsed onto her knees, her head bowed and her hands resting on the floor. A few tears cascaded down her cheeks and fell, dotting the ground. She was incredibly scared, and she still couldn't use magic in this forsaken place. _

_"I'm scared," she murmured. "I don't want to die...someone..." She squeezed her eyes out, the action of doing so causing more tears to spill out. At that moment, her head felt like it was splitting in half as the flames around her became more wild and frenzied. No...NO! Sakura could sense the presence of the mysterious cloaked figure appearing in the room with her, remembering how his red eyes looked so cold and menacing. But before she could inquire this stranger about who he was, why he was there, and what he wanted with her, she felt another splitting headache. Immediately, her hands flew up to her head and tightly gripped her brown locks; at the same time, she heard a frenzy of voices. She didn't know whether they came from inside her head or not, but she, in her sudden hysterical state, couldn't take it. _

_"..what's happening to her?"_

_"Blimey...burning..."_

_"Sakura? SAKURA! Wake up!"_

_"All...you..out!" _

_"...notify...Mr. Li...best..." _

_"Where...burns...coming from?" _

_Sakura could only hear bits and pieces of the conversations that she was hearing, and she couldn't understand all of it. All she could do was whimper and moan in pain._

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Eriol's fist pounded a particular wall in the dungeons extremely loudly. A small opening in the wall sprung open and a tired yet pissed-off looking Scorpius met Eriol with disdain at first for the rude intrusion in the middle of the night, but his expression soon changed when he realized who it was.

"Professor Hiiragizawa!"

"Listen, Mr. Malfoy, wake Mr. Li up at once," Eriol instructed in a tone that implied "don't question me, just do as I ask."

Scorpius nodded, dumbfounded, before running off. He soon emerged with a very cross-looking Syaoran.

"It's freakin' 4 in the morning, Hiiragizawa. What do you want?" Syaoran asked crossly.

"It's about Sakura-san..." Eriol said solemnly, his voice trailing off.

That was all Eriol needed to say. Syaoran suddenly bolted out past the DADA professor faster than a Snitch, his mind going into overdrive as he thought about what could have happened to Sakura.

"SHE'S IN THE HOSPITAL WING!" he heard Eriol yell out to him.

Hospital Wing? Sakura was in the _hospital wing?! _Syaoran knew that he hadn't a moment to lose. He skipped steps as he ran up to the third floor, where the Hospital Wing was. However, as soon as he burst in through the doors and saw Sakura lying on one of the beds with a pained expression on her sleeping face, he fell to his knees, his breaths coming out in pants as his body tried to recover from the intense aerobic activity he had just done. Slowly, he made his way over to her bed and pulled up a chair. She looked so pale, weak, and vulnerable, and it pained Syaoran to see her in such a state. Her breathing was slow and irregular, her hair was soaked in her own sweat and sticking to her face. She had a fever, and he knew it. Syaoran grasped her hands in his and gasped when he saw burns on her hands and lower arms. Those burns...

"It hurts..." she moaned, unable to open her eyes. "...okaasan...otousan...oniichan...S-Syaoran..."

Syaoran gripped her hands tighter. He bent over and kissed her forehead, not caring if he was going to get sick himself, or that she was hot and sticky all over.

"It's alright, Sakura," he murmured soothingly. "I'm here. Everything's going to be alright."

And so, Syaoran stayed with Sakura in the Hospital Wing for the rest of the night.

Sakura still wasn't better by the next day. Against his will, Madam Pomfrey shooed Syaoran out so she could tend to the feverish girl. During breakfast, Syaoran just stared at his empty plate, not eating. Scorpius noticed and pointed out,

"Sakura wouldn't be happy if she knew you weren't eating because of her. I'm sure it would just make her more sad."

"How can I eat, knowing that she's extremely sick and that I can't do a thing about it?" Syaoran snapped. "And she also had mysterious burns on her hands and lower arms! That's not normal!"

"You're right, that's definitely not normal," Scorpius agreed. "What do you think happened?"

Syaoran narrowed his eyes. "I might know the reason...but I can't tell you."

"What? Why?" Scorpius demanded.

Syaoran didn't say another word. He couldn't tell Scorpius or anyone else that Sakura had prophetic dreams, and that occasionally, what happened in her dreams also manifested themselves in reality. Without a word, he got up and walked towards the two large double doors. He didn't care if everyone was looking at him. As soon as he reached the large double doors, he pressed his palm against one of the doors and pushed. When there was enough of a gap for him to slip through, Syaoran quickly did so, letting the door shut behind him.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Li, but Miss Kinomoto needs her rest," Madam Pomfrey said firmly as she greeted Syaoran in front of the infirmary. "I cannot allow you to see her."

Syaoran's hands clenched into fists as he said angrily, "I can't just sit around knowing that she's sick! Can't I see her for a few minutes?"

Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "Maybe when she gets better, but right now, her fever is still pretty high. I gave her medicine and a fever-reducing potion just ten minutes ago to help it go down."

Syaoran growled. He hated feeling so helpless. His ears suddenly perked up when he heard a weak "Syaoran-kun?"

"Sakura?" he asked, surprised.

Over in her bed, Sakura's eyes weakly fluttered open as she turned her head towards the door, where Syaoran and Madam Pomfrey were arguing over visitation rights. Even her smile was weak as she addressed her boyfriend.

"I'm alright, Syaoran...I'm just feeling a little weak and sick. It happens to everyone...don't worry about me." She tried her best to put on her most cheerful smile. "Just go to classes like usual. It'll make me sad if you're not doing your best because of me."

Syaoran felt like someone had taken his heart and squeezed it hard as he involuntarily swallowed while listening to Sakura weakly tell him that she was alright, even though she was clearly not. He couldn't understand how Sakura could be in such a state and still manage to remain cheerful. If it were him or anyone else, he would have grouched or complained. To him, Sakura was unique, her personality and kind nature simply unparalleled. There was no one else, in Syaoran's eyes, who could rival her smile when she was at her best.

"Sakura..."

"Go," she told him gently.

Syaoran stared at her for what seemed to be a long period of time before nodding. "Promise me you'll get better?" He held up a hand with all fingers curled towards the palm except the pinky. Though she was far away, Sakura still managed to see what he was getting at, and showed him the same gesture.

"Mm. I promise." She wriggled her pinky in the air.

"You know what happens when you break a pinky promise, right?"

"Hai hai. If I break a promise, I'll have to drink 1000 needles."

Syaoran smiled as he lowered his hand. "Get better, okay? I want you to be at your absolute best when Slytherin and Hufflepuff face off in the next Quidditch match."

Sakura nodded, her smile still weak. "Okay." Her eyes then closed, unable to remain open any longer.

Syaoran's smile faltered. He took one last look at Sakura before turning around to leave. He didn't want to leave, but it was Sakura's request. As he left, Madam Pomfrey looked back and forth between his retreating back and Sakura's sick and sleeping form in the bed before sighing.

"I don't think I have ever seen a love as strong as those two."

"How was she?" Al whispered to Syaoran in History of Magic while Professor Binns was lecturing on the Second Wizarding War of 1998, a war that his parents had fought in and the war that brought on Lord Voldemort's downfall. Amusingly, as soon as Professor Binns had announced that the topic for the day would be the Second Wizarding War, Damian and Regina promptly left the classroom. They knew what happened, and did not want to hear about it.

"A little better...she finally woke up," Syaoran whispered back. "I made a pinky promise with her and told her that she better get well soon."

"How cute," Rose said wryly. "Now pay attention, you two!"

"Why? Professor Binns is a huge bore," Al whined. Syaoran quietly chortled.

* * *

A pale and glowing hand placed itself over Sakura's forehead while brushing her bangs away from her damp face. A woman with long dark-grey tresses and a green dress looked down at the sleeping teen worriedly.

"Sakura-chan, please get better soon," she murmured soothingly before her ethereal spirit faded away.

Later that afternoon, while Sakura was still sick, she was widely awake now. Syaoran, Al, Rose, Hugo, and Lily were finally able to officially visit Sakura, though Madam Pomfrey limited their visitation to 15 minutes to allow Sakura to rest so that she could properly recover. Rose and Lily had brought flowers for Sakura and laid them down at her bedside.

"How have you been, Sakura?" Lily asked.

Sakura smiled at the younger red-head. "A little better. Thank you for the flowers." She weakly pumped her arms in the air. "I just need to rest. I'm sure that by tonight or tomorrow, I'll be better. I think my mother visited me...I felt her presence earlier while I was sleeping, I know it. I can't see her, but...the presence I felt was warm and gentle."

"Listen...Sakura..." Syaoran began, then his voice trailed off.

Sakura turned her attention to him. "Hmm?"

Syaoran stared at her for a long time, then shook his head. "N-Nevermind. It's nothing."

Sakura studied him. "Is that so?"

Syaoran nodded.

Sakura continued to stare at him before smiling. "Okay."

Syaoran sighed in relief; he loved how Sakura never pressed a matter further than necessary, and that she respected that he didn't want to continue what he wanted to say while the others were here.

"Get well soon, Sakura, okay? Hufflepuffs are counting on you!" Hugo said.

Rose rolled her eyes at her little brother, knowing that although he genuinely wanted her to get well soon, he also wanted her to be well enough in time for the Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin match next weekend.

Sakura nodded. "Okay!"

"Alright, you lot, your 15 minutes are up," Madam Pomfrey said sternly, yet kindly. "Time to go!"

"Bye Sakura, get well soon," Al said.

Sakura smiled. "Mm. Okay!" She waved goodbye to Al, Rose, Hugo, and Lily. Finally, only she and Syaoran remained.

"How have your...dreams been?" Syaoran asked.

Sakura's expression grew solemn as she glanced down at her sheets. "More or less the same."

"Sakura..." Syaoran's hands curled into fists as his body shook. He quickly turned around so that she wouldn't be able to see his expression. Sakura noticed him shaking and smiled at him.

"Please don't worry about me, Syaoran. Everything will be alright. I know it."

Syaoran slowly turned his body and head so that he could see her out of the corners of his eyes through his peripheral vision.

"Why are you always so optimistic?" he asked softly. "You get nightmares that worry your Housemates, you're currently extremely sick, and you're badly burnt from those damn nightmares...and yet you act as if nothing happened. Dammit Sakura, if you're hurting inside, show it!"

Sakura stared at Syaoran, her eyes wide with shock. For a moment, silence passed between them. Finally, Sakura murmured softly,

"I am hurting Syaoran...I'm scared."

"Then why pretend that you're okay?"

"Because out of all people, I don't want to worry _you_, Syaoran." Sakura clutched the blanket tightly in her hands as she pulled the covers up closer. Her muscles tensed up as she glanced down at her own hands. "I always come close to dying in those dreams...I actually was close to actually dying in last night's dream. And you know how my dreams have the potential to become reality. You know how sometimes, whatever happens in my dreams manifest in reality; it happened with Madoushi-san in Hong Kong, and it's happening again with the recent dreams." Tears were spilling over her cheeks now. She suddenly felt herself being embraced tightly as Syaoran wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head, then rested his chin against it.

"It's alright," he murmured. "It's alright to be scared, Sakura, and to show how you really feel. You don't have to hide anything from me, Sakura. We'll figure out what your dreams really mean...together."

Sakura's eyes glistened as she wrapped her own arms around Syaoran's. With a small nod, she murmured, "Hai."

Syaoran wanted to remain in this position with Sakura forever, to always be there with her and never let her go. And yet he knew that if he didn't leave soon, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't be very happy. He withdrew from the hug, then pulled something out of his pocket. Sakura looked curiously at it.

"A music player?"

"I thought it would give you some entertainment in here," Syaoran said. "There's an enchantment on it so that it will play. You know, since Muggle electronic devices don't work here due to magical interference."

Sakura smiled softly as she wiped her tears away. "Thank you."

Syaoran smiled softly back. "Get well soon."

"I will."

They stared at each other wordlessly yet again for a few seconds, a few seconds that felt like hours to the two of them. Finally, Syaoran turned and left. Sakura stared down at the music player in her hands with earphones attached to it. She put the earphones into her ears, then turned on the music player and scrolled through the songs on the music player before choosing one titled "Kaze no machi he." The melody flowed from the music player through the cord up to the earphones and then into her ears. Sakura closed her eyes as she listened to the song. When she repeated it a second time, she softly sang along.

_"Come take me to the town of wind_

_On the other side of time_

_Make my dream of white flowers come true_

_Take me by the hand with your gentle fingers_

_I want you to guide me to a far-off place_

_To be by your side..." _

Syaoran, who was still standing outside the Hospital Wing, could hear Sakura singing softly, though he couldn't hear her very well. However, from her aura, he could tell that Sakura was currently at peace.

"Has Sakura gotten any better?" Scorpius asked.

Syaoran nodded. "A little. She's still pretty weak, though. But Sakura's strong. She doesn't let things like this keep her down."

"The Roths, especially Regina, seem to enjoy the fact that your girlfriend is sick, though."

Syaoran narrowed his eyes as his aura flared dangerously. "They do, do they?"

"Regina most of all can't stand Sakura's personality. You know how she is," Scorpius said.

Syaoran nodded.

"My my, talking about my _sister_, are we?" a voice drawled. "And I presume about me, too? Didn't your parents ever tell you it's bad to talk about someone behind their back?"

Syaoran's eyes flashed as he faced Damian. He formed a fist with one hand and slammed it against the open palm of the other hand, then pulled fist and hand apart as a white ball of light appeared. As Syaoran pulled his fist and opposite hand further apart from each other, the white ball of light manifested itself into a sword. Swinging it around, Syaoran aimed it at Damian, who remained unfazed.

"You're not really going to kill me," Damian said, his eyes wide and taunting. "You don't want to hurt your precious girlfriend and risk going to Azkaban."

Syaoran narrowed his eyes even more.

"Careful there, Li. That's going to leave a permanent mark on your face," Damian taunted.

_"With a painful, echoing voice_

_They sing out with all of their hearts_

_Without knowing the meaning of happiness,_

_They sleep in darkness..._

"Shh! Do you hear that?" Scorpius asked. "Is that Sakura...singing?"

Syaoran nodded, his sword still pointed at Damian. "I gave her a music player to keep her occupied. I figured that she might be bored lying there in bed all day. It's enchanted so that it would bypass the magical interference."

_"The other side of our dreams are still unknown to us_

_Come on, together we can go_

_On the distant road to the town of wind..."_

"Sakura...even though she's hurting, she still continues to smile," Syaoran spoke to no one in particular as he lowered his sword. "She always believes that everything will turn out alright in the end. That's her mantra: everything will surely be alright. No matter what happens to her, she always remains so optimistic. Even if she faced a dark wizard and became subjected to the Cruciatus Curse...Sakura would continue to smile as if nothing had ever happened. She's...too good." Syaoran slammed his fist sideways into the wall. "And damn it, if you and your sister ever hurt her, you're going to listen to me. And I don't care if I land in Azkaban, but if you ever, ever hurt her...the next time we meet, my sword will run through your body before you can even pull your wand out and say a spell."

With a swish in the air, Syaoran made his sword disappear before walking off.

"Wow...never mess with him," Scorpius whistled.

Damian wordlessly stared at Syaoran's retreating back, then at the doors to the Hospital Wing, beyond which Sakura lay.

"Are you going to visit her, Roth? Even after the threat from Li?" Scorpius asked.

Damian closed his eyes and turned around. "No," he said coolly. "I have no need to visit a weak and pathetic girl, Malfoy."

"Well then," Scorpius said, "Don't let Li hear you say that about Sakura." He walked off.

Damian remained rooted to his spot, glaring at the spot where Scorpius had previously been. Finally, he , too, walked away from the doors of the Hospital Wing.


	16. What's Seen Cannot Be Unseen

AN: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP and Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. The only thing that belongs to me is this fanfic.

* * *

Chapter 16: What's Seen Cannot Be Unseen

This was...different. Everywhere she turned, all she could see was white. She couldn't tell up from down, left from right. Looking down at herself, she saw that she was wearing a white dress that stopped at her knees in the front, then cascaded down to floor-length in the back. With her thumb and index finger, Sakura pinched a portion of her dress and looked curiously at it, then spun around once while looking over her shoulder. As she did so, cherry blossom petals began to cascade down around her form, leaving her more confused. Well, at least she knew which direction was up now. She reached out with one hand, catching a whole cherry blossom in her hand. Her fingers closed around the flower as she retracted her arm and brought it in close. She stared at the flower curiously. A few seconds later, the cherry blossom disappeared into thin air.

"Hoee?"

Her arms fell to her sides as she stood there with her head bowed. "Where...am I?" she murmured. She knew for sure that this wasn't the fire room that she had been dreaming about for the past 2 weeks.

"You tell me where you are," a voice answered.

Sakura widened her eyes and quickly spun around. There, standing in front of her, was a man with a long white beard and twinkling eyes. She sensed a warm, inviting aura from him, so she knew that she didn't have anything to be afraid of.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked, her facial expression showing her utmost confusion. Her eyes then widened. "Wait...I didn't...oh god!" She couldn't have died, could she? Wasn't the fever-reducing potion that Madam Pomfrey gave her suppose to reduce her fever, not raise it? And she didn't remember feeling too delirious-last time she dozed off, her headache had lessened!

Seeing the young teenage girl in front of him suddenly panicking, the man chuckled. "Oh no, miss, you're not even close to death."

"Then...?"

"This is your dream, Sakura."

"My dream? Wait, you know me?" Her eyes furrowed together in confusion. "But..."

"You've met Clow Reed before, am I correct?"

"You know Clow-sama?"

"Indeed I do." The man's eyes twinkled again. "A very fine magician. I regret that I wasn't alive during the time when he was alive. It's a pleasure to meet his successor, though I might add. But yes, this is your dream."

A small frown formed on her lips; Sakura did not know what was going on. Who was this man, why was she here, and why was she wearing this white dress as if she had just died and went to heaven? If this was her dream, why wasn't she wearing her normal clothes? None of it made any sense to her.

"I see that you are still confused," the man chuckled. "Forgive me for not answering your first question. I am Professor Dumbledore, the former late Headmaster of Hogwarts. I am communicating with you the same way you've been communicating with Mr. Reed."

Sakura's jaws dropped. This man in front of her was the former Hogwarts headmaster? But he said late...so that meant he was dead?

"Hooeeeee!" she couldn't help but utter as her hands flew up to her mouth while her eyes widened. "But I don't understand. Why am I here? And how do you know who I am?"

"Ah, your mother has told me all about you."

"My...mother?"

"Yes. You see, I've been getting a little worried about the present situation at Hogwarts from up there. Your mother assured me that with your unwavering kindness and pure heart, you would be able to do what no witch or wizard has ever been able to do before. Since you've been having those nightmares lately, I thought that I might pull you away from those nightmares for just a little bit to tell you this."

Sakura's head spun. So Dumbledore and her mother, Nadeshiko, had spoken. Great. Dumbledore was also telling her that her kindness would allow her to do something no witch or wizard in the past had been able to do. And that was...what, exactly? It was a relief, though, to not be in that inferno hell for once. She didn't think she could stand the heat for one more night, or see that cloaked figure with murderous red eyes watching her from the corner of the room, not even bothering to save her. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, bringing them up to her chest.

Dumbledore smiled kindly at the young girl in front of him. He walked up and placed a hand on one shoulder before proceeding, "Don't worry too much about what I've said for now. You will eventually figure out all the missing pieces."

_Sakura! Sakura!_

"Now I believe it's time for you to wake up," he chuckled. "It seems like you are being called back to the waking realm."

Sakura's eyes shot open as her surroundings suddenly began to change. Dumbledore turned around and walked away from her, giving her a wink before he disappeared. With an outstretched hand, she cried,

"Wait! Don't go! I still don't understand!"

-in the waking world-

"Don't...go..." Sakura murmured, her eyebrows furrowed over her closed eyes. Her eyes then fluttered open as she glanced around at her new surroundings. Well, new in terms of not being in the dream world anymore. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. What a weird dream!

"Sakura!"

Sakura looked to her left and saw Syaoran sitting there, holding her hand in-between his. She smiled. "Good morning, Syaoran." Her head tilted to one side. "Um...how long have you been here?"

"Since breakfast ended," Syaoran informed her. "Though I got worried when you were making faces in your sleep. You didn't have that nightmare again, did you?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. This time, it was different. I was in this...I don't know exactly where I was, but it was all white. And this man...he said his name was Dumbledore...came to me and said I had to do something. But then I heard someone calling out my name and then the dream ended."

Syaoran's eyes widened. "That's the name of one of the former Headmasters of this school! He was the Headmaster when our friends' parents went here."

Sakura's eyes widened, too. "Hoeee! Then it wasn't just a dream then. I really did meet Dumbledore-san! But then how was I able to communicate with him?"

"Probably the same way you've communicated with Clow Reed," Syaoran said. "Through your subconscious. What did Professor Dumbledore tell you?"

Sakura put a finger to her lips as her eyes traveled upward. "Umm...just that my kindness and pure heart would enable me to do what no witch or wizard has ever done before. He didn't explain much after that." She pumped her arms comically in the air. "Ah, I feel so refreshed! I don't feel sick anymore!"

Syaoran smiled widely. "That's a relief. I was really worried about you yesterday."

Sakura blinked in surprise. "You were?"

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah."

Sakura beamed cutely at him; Syaoran loved it when she gave him one of her adorable eye smiles that matched her lip smile; both were as radiant as the other. Remembering that Syaoran had said that breakfast had ended, her eyes widened.

"Oh no, I missed breakfast!" she groaned, then hung her head gloomily. "Now I'm going to be hungry until lunch. Hoeee..."

Syaoran chuckled. He reached into his cloak and pulled out an orange and a banana nut muffin. "That's why I managed to sneak these out for you. I figured you might want it."

Sakura glanced up at her boyfriend, her eyes glistening with awe. "Syaoran...Syaoran, you're the best!" She threw her arms around his neck, nearly making him drop the muffin and orange.

"O-oi!" he stammered, blushing at the close contact.

"Well well, it seems like you are back to your cheerful self, Sakura-san," an amused voice said.

Sakura and Syaoran both blushed upon recognition of the voice and quickly drew apart from each other. There, standing by the doors, was Eriol, wearing his usual all-knowing smirk. Still blushing hard from the sudden interruption, Sakura greeted,

"G-good morning, Eriol-kun."

Eriol smiled back at her. "Good morning, Sakura-san. How are you feeling?"

Sakura smiled back brightly. "A lot better now! I'm not sick anymore!" As if to prove her point, she comically pumped her arms in the air.

"Wonderful!" Eriol nodded.

An hour later, Sakura was given the okay from Madam Pomfrey to leave the Hospital Wing. She quickly dressed into her school uniform, then rushed outside towards the greenhouses, where the Herbology class was held. She didn't care if she was late; she was pretty sure the entire school knew about her predicament. When she got to Greenhouse 3, panting from the speed at which she ran to get there, all eyes turned to face her, suddenly ignoring what they had been doing. Sakura felt unnerved by the sudden attention; she slowly took a few steps back nervously. Suddenly, she bent over into a deep bow, her upper torso going back up and down like one of those duck things as she bowed profusely.

"I'msorryI'mlateitwon'thappenagainIpromisepleasedo n'tdockpointsfromHufflepuffbec auseofme!" she gushed out, her words being incomprehensible and mashed together. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she apologized, then waited for a reprimand.

Silence greeted her. Sakura continued to remain bowed at a 90 degree angle, her hands folded and resting on her knees. Suddenly, giggling and laughing filled the other. Confused, Sakura lifted her head to see the entire Herbology class smiling warmly at her. Rose came up and threw her arms around her friend.

"Sakura, we _all_ know how you've suffered a terrible fever," Rose said. "We didn't think you were going to be well enough still to come to classes today!"

Sakura beamed as she, for the third time that day, pumped her arms comically. "Well I'm better now!"

"Glad to hear that, Miss Kinomoto," Neville said, looking at her kindly. "Don't worry, I won't dock points from Hufflepuff. I know about the situation you had been in. I was prepared to excuse you from today's class, too."

Sakura bowed again. "Thank you, Professor!"

"Alright then everyone, get back to work," Neville ordered. "Miss Weasley, please explain to Miss Kinomoto what we are doing and show her the proper procedures."

Rose nodded. "Okay, professor." And so, for the rest of the class period, they learned how to handle ...

"Wonderful, the giddy little girl is well again," Regina said sarcastically after class had ended as she walked back to the castle with her arms folded. "I much preferred her being sick than to see her bouncing off the walls. What is there to be so happy about? It's disgusting. Right, my lord?" She looked at Damian, who was staring straight ahead with a steely gaze and looking like he hadn't heard a single word she had said. He didn't say anything, but continued walking.

"My lord?" Regina asked again, wondering if he had heard her. Damian looked at her out of the corner of his eyes with a look that told her to cease her talking. Regina shut up immediately. Together, the two of them entered Hogwarts in silence.

Damian was sick of masquerading as a student. Since he had found out about Sakura, he no longer had the idea to get revenge on Harry Potter by getting to know his children and then attacking them when they least expected it anymore. Sakura Kinomoto was more of a danger to him than the Potters. He would not stand to have someone else supposedly more powerful than him existing, especially not someone who was several times his junior. Sure, he looked the same age as the rest of the fifth years now, but that was because thanks to that sorcerer's magic, his own time had been reversed to turn him back into a handsome recently-turned-sixteen year old.

Damian also hadn't killed in a long time since his death and since his forbidden resurrection. An idea suddenly struck him; didn't sorcerers absorb the magical energy of those they killed? Perhaps if he killed Leon, he would gain untold powers that weren't available to a witch or wizard's disposal. He could kill Leon and steal the magical staff that the sorcerer wielded, the object that the sorcerer used to control and manage his mana supply.

Defense Against the Dark Arts saw them practicing nonverbal magic again. Damian, being the most experienced out of everyone there, performed advanced magic without batting an eye. However, he hated how Eriol kept a close eye on him; it reminded him too much of the late Dumbledore. Sakura, on the other hand, seemed to be having the most trouble, as she was new and clearly out of her element.

"Hoeee, I had so much trouble," Sakura said defeatedly after class on their way to Transfiguration, her head hanging low.

Al patted her back encouragingly. "Well you are new, after all. Don't worry, you'll eventually get the hang of it. You picked up other spells pretty quickly, so I'm sure that you'll eventually get the art of nonverbal spells down. Besides, I heard that my dad was never good at nonverbal spells."

Syaoran raised his eyebrows. "The infamous Harry Potter couldn't use nonverbal spells?"

"Hey, don't speak about my dad in such a way," Al retorted as they entered the Transfiguration classroom and sat down in some empty chairs in the middle of the classroom. Sakura just giggled.

"As I'm sure you are all wondering, we have decided on the date for the spring ball," Sprout announced that evening before dinner. "That date will be April 1st. Also, let this be a reminder that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to _all_ students." She sent James at the Gryffindor table a knowing look. James looked away as his friends laughed. "Mr. Filch would also like me to remind you all not to leave trash around."

"But he's the caretaker! That's his job!" someone at the Slytherin table snorted.

"His duty is to take care of the school, not be your personal servant," Sprout said harshly to the Slytherin who had spoken up. "Now, with that said, I hope you all have a lovely dinner." She then got off the podium and joined the rest of the staff at the center of the long table.

"Oishii!" Sakura exclaimed happily as she surveyed the food in front of her. There were baked mushrooms, mashed potatoes, pudding, treacle tarts, some rice, vegetables, an assortment of berries and fruits, chicken, fish, and some dishes that she didn't know the name of. "Itadakimasu!" She helped herself to some rice, fish, stuffed mushrooms, and some vegetables. Ah, the food was so delicious! She really wanted to thank whoever made these dishes.

"House elves."

"Hoee?" Sakura looked at Hugo quizzically. "What did you say?"

"House elves made these dishes," Hugo explained.

Sakura's cheeks turned red. "Um...did I actually say that out loud?"

Hugo nodded.

"Hoeee!"

Hugo threw his head back and laughed. "I can see why Li fell in love with you. You're incredibly cute when you get all flustered." Realizing what he had said, his own cheeks turned red. "By the way, I'm not flirting with you or anything...just complimenting you."

Sakura smiled warmly at him. "I know."

* * *

Since there was the Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin match that weekend, Sakura had to skip out on another day of training with Eriol. Even though her skills as a Seeker were extremely unusual, especially with her adept ability at sensing a tiny ball's presence, she still came to practice anyway, believing that she could learn a lot just from watching her teammates play. By the time practice ended, it was already dark.

"Good job, everyone," their captain, Killian, announced. "Starting from today, we are going to increase practice to 3 times a week, up until our match against Slytherin in February. I expect you all to be there!" He then dismissed them before making his way back towards the castle from the Quidditch pitch. Sakura and the rest of the team followed behind. Just as they were about to go in, Sakura noticed a blur of movement out of the corner of her eyes. She stopped in her tracks and turned in the direction that she saw the blur.

"Sakura? Is there something wrong?" Hugo asked.

Sakura's lips turned into a tiny frown. "I thought I saw something...you guys go back inside, I want to check something out."

"But Sakura, it's curfew! If you're caught, you could get detention!" Hugo protested.

"Not to mention that you would cause us to lose House points," Killian agreed.

Sakura smiled. "Don't worry, I won't get caught. I'm pretty good at stealth."

Seeing the disbelieving look the two boys gave her, Sakura sighed. "Really! I once snuck into a museum undetected once without being caught!"

"What were you doing in a museum?" Hugo asked, lifting one eyebrow.

Sakura laughed nervously; she didn't want to tell them that the purpose behind that was to capture the pesky Silent Card. There were also several times as a kid when she and her friends would sneak into Tomoeda Elementary at night to deal with magical forces, such as the capture of the Shadow and Song Card, and when she transformed the Shadow into a Sakura Card. She threw her hands up defensively in front of her and shook her head from side to side.

"I-it's not important. Anyway, you guys go on ahead."

"Well...okay," Hugo said slowly. "See you later, Sa-" Before he could finish, Sakura was already running off in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. Hugo and the rest of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team stared at her retreating back in disbelief. Out of all people, _Sakura _was running towards the Forbidden Forest? She didn't strike them as a troublemaker at all! Of course, they didn't know about her childhood adventures.

Sakura darted into the Forbidden Forest, but came to a stop when she realized that it was dark and she couldn't see anything. She reached inside her shirt and pulled out her Star Key. "Release! Glow!" she commanded, releasing her staff first and then using one of her Sakura Cards. She didn't give a damn about nonverbal magic right now. Glowing blue orbs of light that resembled fireflies immediately appeared, lighting up her path. Clutching her staff tightly in her hands, Sakura ran forward, relying on her senses to track down whoever it was that she saw come this way.

* * *

He knew that he was being followed. By who, he didn't know, but what Damian did know was that along with Leon, he would kill whoever the witness was. Next to him was Regina, his most trusted servant. He came to a clearing, where the Acromantulas once lived before he and his Death Eaters chased them out the night of the Battle of Hogwarts...the night when he had been bested by his nemesis, Harry Potter. Damian lifted up the sleeve of his left arm, revealing a faded but very familiar tattoo. He pressed it.

In a matter of seconds, a robed man wielding a large staff appeared. He looked at the handsome sixteen year old in front of him, startled.

"M-my lord, how may I serve you this time?" Leon asked nervously. He knew that whenever Damian, or rather Voldemort, wanted something, he always got what he wanted.

Damian smirked evilly as he withdrew his wand from within the right sleeve of his robes. "How may you serve me, you ask?" he asked, his tone cold and icy. He aimed the tip of the wand at Leon's chest. Leon's eyes widened, catching onto what Voldemort wanted to do.

"N-no! M-my lord, please don't!"

"I am sorry it has to come to this," Damian said coldly. He was clearly not apologetic at all. "However, I must kill you to obtain the magic you possess. I have heard, after all, that if you kill a sorcerer, you can steal his or her powers. And I want that power."

Leon's expression had sheer terror written all over it. He couldn't believe that after all he had done to resurrect Voldemort, Voldemort was turning on him!

"Goodbye, Leon. I should probably thank you first for reviving me," Damian said. His face then contorted as he shouted, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

A bright green flash illuminated a tiny section of the dark Forbidden Forest. Leon's body fell over, still and unmoving. His eyes were wide with shock, as if he had just seen a ghost. Damian coolly looked over the sorcerer's body and grabbed the staff from the sorcerer's hands with triumph.

"Now...with this, I will be more powerful," he smirked.

"My lord, what shall we do with him?" Regina asked.

"Dispose of him," Damian said coldly. "But this is the Forbidden Forest, is it not? Leave his body here for the magical creatures to feast on."

A sudden gasp that broke through the stillness of the night caught his and Regina's attention. Regina took out her own wand and hissed into the trees, "Who's there? Come out!"

But rather than the figure coming out to reveal him or herself, the sound of rustling leaves and pounding footsteps could be heard.

Sakura couldn't believe it. She had just witnessed Damian murder an innocent man and steal his staff. Her stomach felt uneasy, and she fought the urge to throw up. Why? Why did she have to let curiosity get the best of her? She should have never gone into the Forbidden Forest. How did such a good day for her turn out so bad? She didn't know why she was crying, but tears were streaming down her cheeks. She didn't know the man, so why would she cry for a stranger? In her attempt to run back to the castle as quickly as she could, her foot caught on something and she fell over with a hard, resounding crash.

"Ow!" she groaned as she sat up. Suddenly sensing that she was not alone, she looked up. Dread filled her heart when she saw, not one, not two, but a whole colony of giant spiders! She was about as fond of spiders as she was of ghosts.

"Well well well, look who just popped up," one of the Acromantulas sneered, looking at the frightened girl with its multiple eyes.

"Looks like we're getting a nice little snack today," another agreed.

Sakura held her staff defensively in front of her body as she slowly rose to her feet and took a step backwards. "D-don't get near me!" she warned shakily. "I'm warning you!"

"And what could you possibly do to us with that pretty little toy, human?" the first Acromantula asked. Sakura figured that this one must be the alpha because it was bigger than all the others. She took another step back, feeling something brush against her. "By the way, little girl, I hope you know that you're walking right into our little web."

Sakura's eyes widened in horror as she glanced over her shoulders and saw that she had, indeed, walked into one of their giant webs. She clutched her staff tightly in her hands, dread filling her heart. No! She wasn't supposed to die, not yet! Not now! She still had so much to live for, and besides, who would take care of the cards if she was gone? Also, Kero-chan and Yue surely would not take to a new master or mistress too kindly. As she stared at the ground in front of her with wide, shocked eyes, one of the Acromantulas began to descend towards her, ready to eat her alive.

"No..." she murmured.

The Acromantula came even closer.

"No..."

By now, the Acromantula was only a few meters away from her.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Sakura screamed, struggling against the web as her grip on her staff tightened. Her body suddenly glowed. Without warning, the web that held her up suddenly burst into flames, freeing her from its sticky binds. Sakura collapsed to the ground on her hands and knees, panting. Where did those flames come from? However, Sakura pushed that thought to the back of her mind. She held her staff out in front of her as she closed her eyes and concentrated. She remembered learning from Hagrid in one of their Care of Magical Creatures lessons that Acromantulas didn't like fire, and knew just the card to use.

_Scare off all these giant arachnids!_ she thought. _Firey! _She could sense one of the elemental cards coming to its mistress' aid. The sound of pincers clicking and fast scurrying, followed by the sudden rise in temperature, told her that she had successfully called upon the Firey in the face of mortal danger. She slowly opened her eyes to see the Firey spirit weaving along the giant tree that the Acromantulas had been on, scaring them all away from its mistress. Since Firey's body illuminated the tree that the Acromantulas were hiding on, Sakura realized with cold dread just how many of them there really were. When it felt that its mistress was no longer threatened, it changed back into a card and flew into Sakura's right robe pocket.

All Sakura could do was sit there, panting hard. She almost died! Her staff changed back into a key, which she clutched tightly in her hands.

"Well, well, well. The bearer of the infamous Clow Cards. Oh, right, you said they were Sakura Cards now, didn't you?" a familiar voice drawled, causing Sakura's eyes to widen. "I should have known it was you who followed me into the Forbidden Forest. You are, after all, highly skilled when it comes to tracking magical presences."

Sakura continued to stare straight ahead, unable to turn around. She didn't want to believe it, that someone her age could be so capable of cold-blooded murder. Her eyes squeezed shut, wishing for all this to be just a bad dream, that she would wake up any second in a warm bed.

"I must commend you for chasing away the Acromantulas so quickly," the cold voice continued. Sakura could hear footsteps drawing nearer to her. She wanted to move, but she couldn't. "So you can use your precious cards without having to call on them, can you? Truly remarkable." The footsteps stopped directly behind her. Sakura felt the tip of a wand poke her back. Chills ran down her spine. Slowly, she twisted her upper torso to face Damian. Her eyes glistened with tears that threatened to spill over as she shakily got to her feet.

"Why?" she asked. "Why did you kill that man? Did you plan this all along?"

"Watch your tongue, little girl," Regina snapped. "Do you know who you're talking to?"

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. He was Damian, she was Regina. Was there something going on here that she needed to know?

"Hey, what are yeh all doing out 'ere this late at night?" a gruff voice asked. Sakura turned around to see Hagrid walk up to them. "Don't yeh know that it's dangerous to be out 'ere, especially at this time?"

Damian was about to say something, but to both his and Regina's surprise, Sakura suddenly bent over and bowed, her hair falling down over her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Hagrid-san," she apologized. "This is all my fault. Damian-san and Regina-san saw me going into the Forbidden Forest and I think they wanted to stop me from going any further. I had felt a strange presence that seemed to draw me in..." She was telling a lie, and she knew it. However, she had to commend herself on her acting skills, for her voice didn't even waver once as she told her lie. She felt that the school didn't need to know about what Damian did just yet. After all, they had just recently come back from Christmas break. She raised herself back up to her full height after she finished explaining her fib.

Hagrid sighed and shook his head. "Well, it was a good thing I found all of yeh. Now let's get out of 'ere so you can all head off 'ta bed. Afraid I'm gonna have to dock some points from Hufflepuff, Sakura. Same with Slytherin. You two mighta been doing the righ' thing, followin' Sakura, but you should've notified a teacher."

"Wait. Can you just give me detention instead?" Sakura asked. "Please don't take house points away from Hufflepuff because I was dumb. I don't care if I have to scrub the entire castle down from top to bottom manually without doing magic-I'm used to doing chores. Just please..."

Hagrid chuckled. "Yer an odd one, Sakura. Students usually don't like detentions. Alright, I'll give yeh 3 days worth of detention instead."

Sakura beamed. "Thank you, Hagrid-san!"

Hagrid chuckled, but noticed immediately that Sakura wasn't as cheerful as she usually was. He knew that something was wrong, but seeing the look on Sakura's face, decided not to press the matter. He motioned for the three of them to follow. Sakura glanced over her shoulders and shot Damian and Regina a weak smile before following Hagrid. She had had enough of the Forbidden Forest, and she was glad to be with someone who knew his way out.

Meanwhile, Damian and Regina were both dumbfounded. Neither of them had predicted her actions, not even Damian, who was a highly skilled Legilimens. It didn't make sense-she had witnessed Damian killing a sorcerer and steal the sorcerer's staff. Damian had poked her back with the same wand that had killed Leon, with the intent of killing her off since she was a witness, and to also gain control of her cards. And yet she had made up a lie, making it seem as if everything was her fault.

For the first time in his life, Damian asked, "Why?" But then again, she didn't know about his true identity. If she had known who he and Regina really were, would she still have done the same thing?

Back inside the castle, the first thing Sakura wanted to do was soak in a nice, hot bath. She showered first to get rid of all the filth on her body, then filled a separate bathtub with water using Aguamenti, as she wanted to use her wand instead of her star staff, then climbed in, letting the hot water soak her skin. Folding her arms against the side of the bathtub, she laid her head down on her folded arms and closed her eyes. She needed to tell Syaoran. After all, he was in the same House as Damian and Regina. She didn't want him to get hurt because of her, because she had seen something she shouldn't have. She then pondered over whether she should also tell Eriol. After all, they were friends first and foremost, and she trusted his wisdom. He was one half of Clow Reed's reincarnation, wasn't he? A sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes, letting the steam in the bathroom build up as she continued to soak in the hot bath.

_"With your unwavering kindness and pure heart, you would be able to do what no witch or wizard has ever been able to do before."_

Slowly, Sakura reopened her eyes. What did Dumbledore mean by that? She still didn't get it. If she slept, could she meet Dumbledore again? No, there must be an easier way. She racked her brain, trying to figure how best to contact a headmaster who was already dead. Wait...headmaster...as if a lightbulb had lit up in her head, Sakura's face brightened. That's it! Rose had once mentioned that the walls of Professor Sprout's office was littered with portraits of former headmasters who had all deceased. She could talk to Dumbledore and ask for clarification there! But then she realized that she had no other reason to go to Professor Sprout's office, and saying to Sprout that she needed to talk to the portrait of Dumbledore would surely be weird, since this was her first year at Hogwarts and she couldn't have known about who Dumbledore was. It was also past curfew,

After half an hour of just sitting there in the bathtub, pondering her thoughts, Sakura climbed out and wrapped a towel around herself, then drained the water. She changed into her pajamas, blow-dried her hair, and brushed and flossed her teeth before coming out of the bathroom. Seeing that there there were 5 other girls standing outside, waiting to use the bathroom, she smiled weakly.

"S-sorry," she apologized before walking off towards the bedchambers. Roxanne frowned and stared after Sakura.

"Is it just me, or does Sakura not seem like her usual cheerful self?"

The other girls nodded.

Sakura climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her heads as she closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep. When she realized that she couldn't, she decided to use the Sleep. She hadn't been trained by Eriol on how to use the cards without her staff yet, but she could try, right? After all, she didn't want to release her staff, only to have one of the girls walk in and discover her secret. She reached under her pillow, where her Sakura Book lay. Opening it, she flipped through the cards until she found the Sleep, then held it up. Closing her eyes, she whispered, "Sleep, please help me get a good night's sleep tonight."

She waited. Then the card glowed, having had heard its mistress' pleas. A tiny blue fairy appeared and waved her tiny wand above Sakura's head, producing shimmery dust. Sakura's eyes began to feel heavy and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep. The Sleep returned to its card form and flew back into the Sakura Book, which magically closed and slipped back under her pillow.

The next morning...

"HOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" CRASH. THUD. BOOM. CLANG. CLUNK.

Even though the Hufflepuff Common Room was in the basement, Sakura's sudden shriek could be heard resonating throughout the castle, making some students wonder where the sounds were coming the Great Hall, Syaoran laughed to himself. Sakura was late again. It was so typical of her.

"What's that noise?" Scorpius asked.

"Oh, just Sakura," Syaoran said without missing a beat. "I believe she just woke up and realized that she was late. She better get here soon, since breakfast ends in 10 minutes. Lucky for her she doesn't need to go far."

"Is she always like this?" Scorpius asked.

Syaoran smirked. "When she's late...yes. Speaking of Sakura, here she comes in 3...2...1." As soon as he said "one", the doors to the Great Hall burst open and a girl with honey brown hair ran in, hopping on one foot as she struggled to run and put her shoes on at the same time. Seeing the entire school there stare at her made her feel self-conscious.

"H-hoeeee...s-sorry I'm late, I accidentally slept in," she gushed, twiddling with her fingers at the same time.

"Sakura-san, just sit down," Eriol chuckled. "Breakfast ends in 10 minutes, so you might want to eat fast. Although, I heard you're a champion at that."

Sakura blushed. How did Eriol know? She used to always eat her breakfast in record time back in elementary school just so she could head to school at the same time as Touya and also see Yukito as well. She nodded, still red in the face, and sat down at the Hufflepuff table, where she ate as much as she could before breakfast could end. Her Housemates could only watch in amazement as she downed two pancakes, some scrambled eggs, some diced potatoes, and a piece of toast quickly.

"Blimey, Sakura, are you an eating machine?" Hugo asked.

Sakura took a swig of pumpkin juice, then gasped as she slammed the goblet of the juice down on the table. "No...just lots of practice. Yukito-san's the eating machine, not me."

"Who's this Yukito?" Roxanne asked.

"Ah, he's my big brother's best friend," Sakura explained. "He's a really nice person. I used to have the biggest crush on him when I was a kid. But then he explained that what I felt towards him was more of a familial kind of love, not a romantic one."

"Ah, I see," Roxanne said with a nod.

Sakura glanced over her shoulder and waved at Syaoran, who just smiled back at her. He didn't like waving, as he felt that it would just bring unnecessary attention to himself. Just two more days until the big match between their respective Houses on Saturday!

"Oh by the way, Sakura, this came for you," Hugo commented, handing her two envelopes. One was in a purple envelope, and the other was in a white envelope.

"Oh, thanks!" Sakura said gratefully, taking the two envelopes from him. She opened the purple one first and read through it.

_Sakura-chan,_

_How I wish I could you at Hogwarts! I think I'm starting to lose my creative streak..._

_With you gone, I can't come up with precious designs for you anymore!_

_There isn't a single day where I don't miss you. _

_Have you been wearing my designs that I packed for you?_

_You better!_

_By the way, if anything hot and steamy happens between you and Li-kun,_

_I want to hear all about it when you get back, okay? _

_Love always,_

_Tomoyo_

Sakura looked in disbelief at Tomoyo's letter. _Well...that's Tomoyo-chan alright,_ she thought. Her eyes fell on the "hot and steamy" part, and she immediately blushed. Then shaking her head furiously to get the thought out of her head, she opened the white envelope and read through the letter inside.

_Dear Sakura,_

_We received your letter. Glad to hear that everything is well. _

_Are you doing well in your studies? Ganbatte ne! _

_Write more often, okay?_

_Dad_

_P.S. Don't cause too much trouble...monster. -Touya _

The tension in the Great Hall suddenly went up as the noise level seemed to die down...at least to Sakura, for she was suddenly seething in anger. Those within a 5 ft radius of her, as well as Syaoran and Eriol, who suddenly sensed a sudden spike in her aura, knew that she was about to flip a table.

"STUPID ONII-CHAN!" she screeched as steam poured out of her ears. "I AM NOT A MONSTER! Geez, I can't believe he's STILL calling me that! Ooh, when I get back for summer, I'm going to get him for this!" Her ranting then became incomprehensible to most of the student population, since she had switched into Japanese. Syaoran was glad that she wasn't using her cards, since he knew that the strength of the cards relied on their owner's magical willpower...and right now, Sakura looked like she could murder anyone. It scared him a little whenever she got angry. Being the little brother of four older sisters, he knew that whenever a girl got angry to never mess with her.

"Typical Sakura," Syaoran chuckled.

"So not only is she typically late...but she's also like an angry Veela in the mornings?" Scorpius asked.

"Hmm...yeah, pretty much," Syaoran said. "Well, only if she gets provoked by that big brother of hers."

"Huh. Does her big brother also have magical abilities like she does?"

"Used to."

"What do you mean, used to?"

"Well, here's what I know about it, based on what Sakura had once told me. Basically, her older brother gave up his magical powers to protect someone he loved. But her older brother's magical ability only went so far to grant him the ability to communicate with spirits. He can't use actual magic at all."

"What about her parents?"

"Sakura's mother died when she was only 3, so we don't know much about her. Her older brother might know, but Sakura still feels uncomfortable mentioning magic to him. And her dad...that's a complicated story I won't get into."

"What about your family, Li?"

"Malfoy, you've known me for what, 3-4 years now? You know about the Li Clan already," Syaoran said with a roll of his eyes. "We're the most powerful and influential magical family in China. My duty is to take over the clan when I am old enough. I don't want to, but as the only male in the main household, I pretty much have to."

As soon as he finished his spiel, breakfast came to an end. Professor Sprout dismissed everyone so that they could go to their classes. History of Magic saw them learning about about some wizarding wars in other parts of the world. Not being her favorite class, Sakura couldn't help but fall asleep ten minutes into the lecture. Syaoran sighed and shook his head as he continued to take notes.

"Sakura." He shook her gently when class ended. "Wake up. It's time to go to our next class."

Sakura lifted her head. "Hoee...did I sleep through the whole period again?"

Syaoran nodded.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized. "Can I look at your notes whenever you have free time?"

"Sure," Syaoran replied. "Did you sleep well last night? You didn't have that nightmare again, did you?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. I used the Sleep Card to help me get a good night's sleep." She yawned and stretched. "I think I slept too well, since I almost missed breakfast. Binn-sensei is just really boring, though. I mean, the history is really interesting, but the way he presents the material makes it impossible for me to stay awake. How do you do it, Syaoran?"

"Lots and lots and lots of practice," Syaoran said dully, remembering all the time he had boring Chinese text about the history of China and scrolls detailing the Li Clan read to him in monotonous voices. They then went off to Charms. From there, Sakura went off to Divination while Syaoran went off to Arithmancy. Afterward, they had free time to spare. Since Sakura had brought detentions on herself, she decided to make use of her free time and work off one of her detentions. She was given the task of mopping, without magic, the corridors of as many floors as she could get to before dinner, and that Filch would oversee her work to be sure that she was doing her job properly. Armed with a bucket full of soap and water and a mop, Sakura decided to start off on the seventh floor, knowing that it would require less energy to go down stairs than up. After all, if she started from the bottom up, she was sure that she would have been too tired to go up another floor after a few floors. Dipping the mop into the bucket of soap and water, she then pulled it out and began to mop, humming to herself while carrying out her detention. Helping clean a school was no big deal to her-though Hogwarts was huge, Sakura was used to this kind of chore. It was something that Japanese students did before and after school, after all.

"La la la..." she sang. If she was going to carry out an arduous task like cleaning the corridors, she might as well make it fun, right? About an hour later, she finished with the seventh floor. She went off into the bathroom to discard the dirty water and to fill it back up with new water, adding in soap while the bucket was filling. Before going down to the sixth floor, she waited patiently while Filch scrutinized her work. After finding no faults in her work, Filch looked at her in disbelief.

"Well then, get moving!" he snapped.

"Yes, Mr. Filch!" Sakura answered. She then went down the stairs to the sixth floor and resumed her work there. Filch had never seen anyone actually _enjoy_ cleaning without the use of magic before, let alone _enjoy _detentions. As Sakura mopped dutifully, she hummed again. However, she thought the detention was rather odd; after all, weren't the corridors going to get dirty again soon?

Sakura didn't even know how much time had passed until she got to the fourth floor, when Eriol stopped her in the middle of her work.

"Sakura-san, you can stop working on your detention for now. It's dinner now."

Sakura smiled. "Okay. Just let me finish this floor, okay?"

"You're working really hard, Sakura-san. Filch says this is the first time he's seen a student actually enjoy carrying out a detention without actively complaining."

"Oh, I'll be complaining if the others start tracking mud and dirt all over my work," Sakura joked. "But you know how I'm used to this. We do this kind of thing all the time in Japan. Well...not exactly cleaning corridors, but cleaning the classrooms, watering the plants, keeping the front of the school clean and presentable, write in the daily log..." She trailed off as she listed the different chores that two students from each class at her school would be assigned to do.

"But Sakura, your task was just to mop as many corridors as you can get to before dinner. You don't have to scrub the rest after you finish with this one." Eriol then went down the steps towards the ground floor to join the rest of the staff and students for dinner. Sakura smiled after him, then went back to work. When she finally finished, she discarded the dirty water, then headed down to the Great Hall.

"Heard you got detention. That blows," Hugo commented.

Sakura shrugged. "It's not that bad. It's something I'm used to."

"Used to?"

Sakura nodded. "In Japan, the students are responsible for the upkeep of the school, both before and after school. Everyday, two students are assigned a task to do, and we rotate so that everyone has a chance to do chores. Those of us with classroom duties were responsible for watering the plants inside the classroom and replacing them with fresh ones if they have wilted, cleaning the chalkboards, and writing in the daily log after school. We also have something called _soju_, which is 15 minutes of the entire school just cleaning." She beamed. "It's a lot of fun, with everyone helping each other out."

Hugo gawked at her. So in Japan, students did the cleaning themselves? There were no caretakers? Hugo was about to ask her more about what school life in Japan was like, but Sakura's attention had completely shifted over to the food.

"Waahhh, oishii! Itadakimasu!" she crowed before helping herself.

"Say, Sakura, what does that mean? What you just said," Hugo asked.

"Itadakimasu?" Sakura asked. "Oh, uh, it's like saying 'thank you for the meal'. It's Japanese custom to say it before a meal, and _gochisousama_ after a meal. _Gochisousama_ also means the same thing as _itadakimasu._"

"I see." Hugo nodded.

After dinner, the older students had about an hour to kill before curfew, while the younger students had to report back to their dormitories immediately, since their curfew was earlier than the older students'. Sakura, Eriol, and Syaoran all went up to the seventh floor to work on their training.

_Mist! _Sakura thought, the look on her eyes focused and determined as a large stone dragon roared loudly and went directly at her with an alarming speed. A card appeared above her staff and glowed, followed by a shroud of mist bursting from the magical card, eroding the large stone dragon away.

"You're getting better at this, Sakura-san," Eriol remarked after their lesson had finished.

Sakura blushed. "I think it's because I have such a good bond with the cards that they know exactly what I want."

Eriol smiled. "Well, you two should report back to your respective dormitories. It's curfew now."

Sakura nodded. "Good night, Eriol-kun."

"Night Sakura-san. Good night, Li-kun."

"Good night," Syaoran said bluntly.


	17. The Prison Break

A/N: CCS belongs to CLAMP and Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. The only characters that are mine in this chapter are Rex and Killian.

* * *

Chapter 17: The Prison Break

This was it. This was the big day. After an entire month of preparing, the match of Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin had finally arrived. While it wasn't as big or popular as the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin matches, due to the two houses having a life-long rivalry between them, what made this match exciting was that Sakura, the Seeker for Hufflepuff, and Syaoran, the Beater for Slytherin, would be indirectly facing off against each other. Two lovers on two different teams.

"I don't want any foul play from any of the players, understand?" the Flying instructor and Quidditch coach and referee, Madam Hooch, said sternly. The Chasers floating on their brooms above her nodded. Sakura and Scorpius were leisurely sitting on their brooms at a higher altitude than the rest of the teams were. Sakura suddenly felt the Snitch's presence and immediately saw it darting in and out between her and Scorpius. That was what she would be competing against Scorpius to get a hold of first.

"The Snitch is out! Remember, whichever team gets the Snitch first wins 150 points, and the game is over!" Gary explained, pretending to be a sports commentator.

"Just because we're friends, doesn't mean I'm going to let you win," Scorpius smirked.

Sakura smiled cheerfully back. "It wouldn't be a fair game if you did."

Madam Hooch blew the whistle, then tossed the Quaffle up into the air. Immediately, the game was in play. While Sakura kept an eye out for the Snitch, she also watched Syaoran with admiration as he used his bat to knock the pesky Bludger away from his own team. Her eyes then darted over to Scorpius, whose eyes were narrowed as he tried to find the Snitch. To find an extremely fast and tiny yellow ball like this was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Sakura wanted to use her magical senses, but knew that if she did, she would end the game quickly. She wanted to make this game meaningful.

"Sakura, look out!" Syaoran's frantic voice suddenly called out, his eyes wide with fear. He was too far away from her to get to her in time! Sakura glanced over her shoulder and gasped when she saw a Bludger coming straight for her head! Acting quickly, she ducked just as the Bludger grazed past her head, narrowing missing her by a hair. Syaoran sighed with relief; it was a good thing he had warned her! He didn't think he could bear to see Sakura in the Hospital Wing again. Meanwhile, cheers went up from the stands from the Hufflepuffs whenever the Chasers from their House scored a goal, and likewise for the Slytherins. As it currently stood, Slytherins were ahead of Hufflepuffs, 10-8. A score from the Hufflepuffs tied the game.

Sakura quickly recovered from the close call and went back to trying to find the Snitch. Suddenly, she glanced up; she didn't know what compelled her to look up, but she did. It was a good thing she did, because she saw the Snitch whizzing around above her. Scorpius, too, had seen it. Detecting that it had been caught, the Snitch flitted away. Sakura immediately followed it, closely flanked by Scorpius from behind, fasting gaining on her. They flew around the perimeter of the Quidditch field, making sure to not go out of bounds. At one point, the two Seekers were neck and neck with each other. They glanced at each other out of the corner of the eye for a brief second before turning their attention back to the escaping Snitch.

Determined to win the game for Slytherin, Scorpius gave a yell as he urged his broom to speed up and extended his arm out in front of him. Sakura, too, did the same thing. However, since she was shorter than Scorpius, she couldn't reach it in time, and before she knew it, Scorpius's fingers had closed around the Snitch. Cheers erupted from the Slytherins, knowing that they had won.

Sakura beamed at Scorpius as she extended her hand out. "Congrats!"

"Thank you," Scorpius said with a smile as he accepted her outstretched hand and shook it. They then flew back down, where the Slytherin team cheered and lifted Scorpius onto their shoulders while the Hufflepuffs patted Sakura on the back and praised her for doing her best. Sakura and Syaoran approached each other amidst the celebration on the field.

"Congrats on winning," Sakura said.

Syaoran chuckled as he ran his hand through his messy dark brown hair. "It was a well-played match. Though I honestly thought that you would get the Snitch first."

"Alright, break it up, you two," Rex, a fellow beater on his team, said. "Let's go celebrate with Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, shall we? Hogsmeade trip today!" He looked at Sakura. "Say, I've never seen you at Hogsmeade before. Do you have permission?"

Sakura smiled at him. "I didn't before, but I got permission from Dad over Christmas break and gave it to Mr. Filch. So this will be my first trip there."

"You'll love it there," Syaoran promised.

Sakura grinned. "You better be telling the truth!" she teased.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "We need to make sure to separate these two lovebirds. Kinomoto, you need to let us celebrate our victories as a Slytherin team, okay?"

Sakura made a face. "Yes, yes, I'll go sit at another table that's close to where you guys are sitting. Ah, I need to change out of this outfit first. I'll meet you all there later!" She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, catching him by surprise. Giggling at his reaction, she took a couple of steps backward, admiring his red face, before pivoting on the ball of the feet that was directly behind her and running back towards the castle. Once she entered the Hufflepuff Common Room, she went into the girls' bathroom and threw off her Quidditch uniform, replacing it with a black turtleneck, a light blue pleated skirt, thigh-length brown wool socks, and black ankle-length boots with kitten heels. Grabbing a small section of hair on both sides of her hair, she tied two floral hair ties around them, forming mini pigtails. She exited the bathroom and grabbed a crossover brown purse from the trunk at the foot of her bed, then headed out.

She could see a long line of students waiting for Filch to let them pass to go to Hogsmeade while the caretaker also kept an eye out for any younger students and students who didn't have permission to go trying to sneak out. After getting past him, she heaved a large sigh of relief, then let out an excited cry as she dashed forward, her heart thumping excitedly in her chest. Seeing Al, Rose, Lily, and James up ahead, she waved excitedly at their backs.

"AL! ROSE! LILY! JAMES!" she called out happily.

The three Potters and Rose turned around to see a bright-eyed girl running and waving like an idiot at them. Lily cracked a smile as Sakura caught up to them, her running slowing down into a walk.

"Hey Sakura. Great game, by the way!" she said.

Sakura smiled back. "Thanks!"

"Where's Li?" James asked. "You two are always clinging around each other."

Cheeks flushed red, Sakura answered meekly, "He's probably already in Hogsmeade. He and his team are celebrating their victories. I told him that I would change out of my Quidditch outfit and meet him there."

"In that case, they're probably at the Three Broomsticks," Rose reasoned. "It's a popular hangout in Hogsmeade, and serves the best Butterbeer all around."

"Say, Rose?"

"Hmm?"

"Where's Hugo?"

Rose shrugged. "He went ahead with your team straight after the game. I expect we'll see him at The Three Broomsticks, too."

Sakura nodded. "I hope so!" she said cheerfully.

Meanwhile, standing inside the clock tower on the section of space between the clock's movement and dial, his dark eyes cold and uncaring, Damian watched as a stream of students made their way into the popular and coveted little wizarding town. However, he did not care for them. His eyes fell on Sakura, the three Potters, and the Weasley girl, but most especially Sakura, whose green eyes expressed the cheerfulness that coursed throughout her veins as she was unaware that she was being watched.

"Look at those pathetic little kids, all excited for a trip to Hogsmeade," Regina sneered as she joined Damian.

Without looking at her, Damian asked coldly, "Have you done what I've asked?"

Regina bowed her head in respect for her old master. "Yes, my lord."

Damian's head slightly nodded, so slight that it was almost unnoticeable. "Very well. Come, Bellatrix." He didn't need to fear addressing Regina by her real name-after all, not many students came up to the clock tower, and also, the majority of them were at Hogsmeade anyway. He and Regina didn't have permission to go to Hogsmeade, but that was fine by them; they knew another way of getting to Hogsmeade. A large, evil smile crossed both Damian and Regina's face as they came face to face with the Whomping Willow, seemingly innocent at the moment. Aiming the pointy end of his wand at the currently passive willow tree, Damian shouted the Immobilization spell, the magic hitting the little knob on the trunk of the tree to prevent the Whomping Willow from harming him and Regina. They then entered a secret passage at the base of the tree, which lead up to a small little shack. And in that shack was a small group of cloaked wizards. At their arrival, the cloaked wizards bowed their heads. One removed his hood, kneeled in front of Damian, and murmured,

"My lord."

Damian didn't even acknowledge the wizard who was kneeling as he spoke in his cold, emotionless manner, "Now that we are all assembled here, let us begin, shall we?"

* * *

Somewhere, in a place inaccessible to the living and the souls that chose to remain on Earth, a woman with long flowing dark hair and kind green eyes frowned as her eyes narrowed in worry while she paced back and forth, a hand resting on her chin.

"Is something bothering you, Nadeshiko?" A red-haired woman, also bearing green eyes, asked kindly as she joined the other woman.

Nadeshiko nodded as she turned her head slightly to the side and looked off towards the horizon. "Something terrible is coming."

The redhead's eyes widened slightly before resuming their normal state. "And how would you know that?"

Nadeshiko smiled softly. "Because I can see into the future, Lily. Just like her."

"Your daughter, I presume?"

Nadeshiko nodded.

"Should we be concerned?"

"No." Nadeshiko shook her head. "Sakura-chan and the others will be alright. I know she will. As long as it's her, everything will be alright."

Lily studied the 27-year old briefly before looking away. "I hope you are right."

Nadeshiko simply smiled.

* * *

"Wow! Look at all the sweets!" Sakura gushed, pressing the palms of her hands up against the glass of Honeydukes Shop. The entire shop was covered top to bottom with a variety of sweets and candies. Seeing a section of the store through the window piled high with a variety of chocolates, she giggled, wondering about how Syaoran felt when he first came to Hogsmeade himself.

'_I should buy some of these for Kero-chan and send it home to him!'_ she thought before entering the shop. After buying a bag of sweets, which included Sugar Quills, Pumpkin fizz, Pink Coconut Ice, Fizzing Whizzbees, honey-colored toffees, a variety of chocolate, a licorice wand, cauldron cakes, and chocolate frogs, she left the shop. _'I hope Kero-chan likes these!' _

Since the Three Broomsticks pub was nearby, she didn't have trouble finding it. Upon entering, she was greeted by a warm yet noisy and crowded atmosphere. The only lights came from the candlesticks on the chandelier that hung in the center of the ceiling and from the windows. Behind the bar was a mirror to reflect the warm atmosphere of the pub. Eyes scanning the pub for her friends, she finally spotted them in the far back corner.

"Hi guys!" she greeted cheerfully.

"Glad you could find this place, Kinomoto," James said. "What've you got there?"

Sakura held up her recently purchased bag of Honeydukes sweets. "Just some sweets and candy. I'm going to send these home for...Ker-a-ah, my family to try." Mentally, she berated herself for almost mentioning Kero's name. She didn't know how she would get out of that one if she did let Kero's name slip. What would she say, that Kero was a pet? Then they would wonder why she was feeding candy to an animal. Luckily, it seemed like they didn't catch her almost slip-of-the-tongue.

"Oh wicked," Lily said with a nod. She glanced over her shoulder. "Li seems to be enjoying himself over there with his team."

"Hoe?" Sakura followed Lily's line of vision to another table, where Syaoran, Scorpius, and the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team were at. As usual, his facial expression was serious, though he showed interest in the conversation that was going on. She didn't know what they were talking about, but Syaoran looked like he was having a good time. Just then, he caught her gaze and looked briefly at her. Cheeks tinted pink as she blushed, Sakura gave him a small smile and waved at him. Syaoran smiled warmly back and waved back. However, the moment he did, the pub's owner, Madam Rosmerta, suddenly blocked his view of his girlfriend as she stood in front of Sakura's table.

"Would you like anything to drink, dear?" Rosmerta asked Sakura.

Sakura smiled politely up at her. "Butterbeer, please."

"Coming right up!" Rosmerta answered as she left their table. After she left, Rose leaned forward.

"This is your first time trying Butterbeer, right?"

Sakura nodded.

Al grinned. "Hope you enjoy it. Best drink ever, I tell ya."

Sakura beamed. "I look forward to tasting it!"

* * *

Harsh waves crashed against the jagged rocks that made up the sides of a rather large land mass, on top of which a tall fortress stood. Its walls, made of iron, were dark and gray, indicating that was behind them was surely not to be trifled with. There was only one door, and relatively few windows. Inside the building were many doors, all of them appearing to be made out of iron. A little horizontal slot on each of the door allowed whoever was behind those doors to see out. This was Azkaban, the wizarding prison, where the most awful criminals are sentenced. Those who purposely use any three of the Unforgivable Curses are sentenced to life in Azkaban, with no chance of parole or redemption.

Since the end of Lord Voldemort's terrible reign in 1998 and the complete overhaul of the Ministry of Magic, the new Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, banished all Dementors, soulless Dark creatures that once plagued the wizarding prison and caused all of the prison's inhabitants to go insane with depression and despair. Now, Azkaban was monitored 24/7 by a small team of highly trusted Aurors, trained to upkeep the high security of the prison. All were taught not to give in to the prisoner's demands or tricks. Sneakoscopes lay hidden from view, letting the Aurors know if anything is amiss. Though security was at its all-time high, there was no denying that with the dismissal of the Dementors when Kingsley Shacklebolt was appointed into his new position at the Ministry, the overall atmosphere of the prison was a little more positive and uplifting.

These upgraded security measures were to a certain individual's immense dislike. Gone were the days when he would just order Dementors to revolt and release the most deadly of the prisoners. There would be no swaying of these Aurors. How could he and the small group of dark wizards, a rare few of whom were rather young and not much older than 25, at his disposal break, free the seasoned dark wizards, his Death Eaters, who while surely getting on with old age must still be adept with a wand?

And then a brilliant idea struck him. He had access to the foolish sorcerer's staff and the magic contained within it, didn't he? Also, no one in the wizarding world, except for the few dark wizards he recruited and Draco Malfoy, knew about his resurrection. Just a mere sight of him would make the Aurors believe they were seeing a ghost or that they were just imagining things. A wicked smile appeared on his features.

His plan was executed perfectly. He hadn't expected the plan to work, but it did, though it had taken him meticulous planning. Using a wordless sleep spell, he knocked out all of the Aurors without even stepping foot within the prison. All he needed was to recreate the magical pool that allowed him to see what was going on in different areas of the world, and then direct a spell through the magical pool. After that, an explosive spell was all that was needed to bash in the doors that held the Death Eaters who were still alive, those who had been rounded up after the Battle of Hogwarts. A simple press of the faded tattoo on his arm, which resembled a skull with a snake protruding from the mouth, was all it took to alert the shocked prisoners, who had thought they would never see such a mark again, of his return. Collectively, they smiled evilly after getting past the initial shock.

* * *

"Harry, big trouble!" Ron shouted, rushing into Harry's office.

"Why? What's the matter, Ron?" Harry asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Azkaban..." was all Ron answered, his eyes wide with shock and confusion. "They say there's been a mass breakout...all of the Aurors have been knocked out with a sleeping spell, and the Sneakoscopes didn't detect any dark activity going on, not until the doors got blown to smithereens. What's more mad, the doors weren't blown up from the inside, but from the outside!"

"I _told_ you guys security cameras powered by magic would be a good idea in case something like this happens, but you wouldn't listen." Hermione Granger shook her head as she entered Harry's office. "Whoever it was that helped in the breakout, must have spent a long time learning about the prison's security. This is someone who also knows about the prison's location-I mean, it's unplottable, how else would anyone find Azkaban unless they've been there before?"

_"_In any case, we need to round up the escaped convicts and put them back where they belong," Harry said firmly.

"Kingsley has already been alerted, and he is sending out a Ministry-wide notice," Hermione said, her voice taking on a business-like tone.

Harry nodded. "Good. Meanwhile, Ron and I will lead our team of Aurors out to take care of them. Do we know anything about the ones that have escaped?"

"Yes." Ron's eyes were serious yet wide as he spoke. "All of them were former Death Eaters."

Harry nearly choked. _Death Eaters?_ Why would there be a sudden breakout for them now? Surely there wasn't a dark wizard out there trying to become the next Lord Voldemort, was there?

* * *

"Mmm, delicious!" Sakura squealed in delight after she had her first sip of the infamous Butterbeer.

"Right?" Al grinned.

"Looks like your girlfriend is enjoying herself over there," Scorpius commented, looking over at Sakura's table. Syaoran nodded, a warm smile on his face as he watched Sakura's face light up with delight at the wonderful taste of Butterbeer. At that moment, he felt something buzz against his leg, followed by a short little tune. With a raised eyebrow, he pulled the offending object out from his pocket and stared at his cell phone as it rang in his hand. The caller ID on the display showed none other than Meiling's name. Knowing that she would probably leave voice messages AND text messages if her favorite cousin didn't answer her right away, he sighed, indicating to his fellow Slytherins to excuse him for a few minutes before answering her call.

"Hi Meiling," he said with a sigh. Since he was speaking Mandarin to his cousin, he was sure no one at the table could understand his phone conversation with her.

"Is that any way to greet your favorite cousin?" Meiling teased on the other line.

Syaoran rolled his eyes, though Meiling couldn't see it. "Any reason you're calling, Meiling? Actually, I should be asking how you're calling me. You know that at Hogwarts, Muggle devices like phones don't work due to all the magical interference."

"Well you're obviously not at Hogwarts now if you're answering my call. Say, is Kinomoto there?"

"Well...yes."

Meiling giggled. "Perfect. Are the two of you catching up on old times?"

Syaoran's face reddened. "I don't think you should be asking that question. And we're both rather busy with classes. Sakura's also training with Hiiragizawa. He wants her to get used to wandless, nonverbal magic."

"As expected of Kinomoto! Tell her I said hi, okay?"

"I will."

"I'm going to have to cut this conversation short, since long distance fees between China and the UK is much higher than between China and Japan. Don't get into too much trouble, Syaoran!"

"I won't."

There was an involuntary pause.

"I'll see you over summer, Syaoran. I wish I could be there."

"You know you don't have magic, Meiling."

"You don't need to keep rubbing it in."

"I'm not."

A light chuckling came from the other end. "Take care, Syaoran."

"Bye, Meiling."

With just a press of a button, Syaoran disconnected the call. He looked at his friends, all of whom were staring at the object in his hand as if it were something they had never seen in their lives before. Of course, many of them were Purebloods with no working knowledge of the Muggle world whatsoever.

"That was my cousin," Syaoran explained dismissively. "She just wanted to check up on me."

"What is that, that Muggle device?" Rex, a fellow Beater, asked.

"It's called a cell phone. In Japan, it's called a keitai," Syaoran explained. "Useful things, cell phones. They allow Muggles to talk to anyone in the world in an instant with just a few buttons, or a single button if someone's on your speed dial. Much faster than owls." He took another swig of his Butterbeer. "How much time do we have left before we have to go back?"

"About ten," Scorpius answered.

"Well then, if you all don't mind, I'm going to go enjoy my last ten minutes with Sakura."

Scorpius smirked. "You kids play nice."

"Haha, very funny," Syaoran said sarcastically. "I'll see you all back in our Common Room."

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing," Scorpius said, still smirking.

Syaoran shook his head as he left their table. '_Idiots'_, he thought while walking up to Sakura's table. "Mind if I join you guys?" he asked.

Sakura shook her head, giving him a warm smile as she scooted over to allow him room to sit. "How did the celebration go?" she asked.

Syaoran laughed dryly. "Rex was disappointed that we couldn't celebrate with firewhiskey."

"Of course, you can't celebrate without firewhiskey," James put in. "Dad disapproves of me drinking firewhiskey while I'm in school, even though I'm of legal age now, but I do it anyway when I get the chance."

"Since we only have about 10 minutes left before we go back, let me give you a quick tour of the rest of Hogsmeade," Syaoran offered.

Sakura, still smiling, nodded. "Okay!"

* * *

They couldn't believe their eyes as they gathered in the small space of the Shrieking Shack. They had thought...no, they had SEEN him die at the hands of his archnemesis, Harry Potter. And yet he was in front of them, yet at the same time, not. The one standing before them wasn't the same Dark Lord they knew. No, this being before them looked more human than the one they had once followed. And yet something in their very being indicated that this was Lord Voldemort. Perhaps it was the fact that the young sixteen year old boy standing in front of them had an evil presence, and the fact that the Dark Mark on his left arm was clear and vivid. All Death Eaters knew from experience that a faded Dark Mark meant the fall of their leader and a vivid Dark Mark meant their leader had returned.

"Now that we have gotten over the shock that I am alive," Damian spoke, "Let us begin, shall we? While you were serving time in Azkaban, I have begun to secretly reassemble my army. I plan on officially announcing my return on April 1st."

"Forgive me, my lord, for asking, but why April 1st?" Selwyn, one of the Death Eaters he broke out of Azkaban, asked.

"That is when Hogwarts will be having their silly little ball," Damian explained impatiently. "Security will be low on that day. It is the perfect time to attack. The wizarding world will be reminded of our greatness once again!"

"But what about Potter, sir? He works for the Ministry now," Amycus pointed out, also among the few Death Eaters that had been imprisoned in Azkaban. "Shouldn't we target him as well?"

"Potter no longer concerns me," Damian said, taking everyone by surprise. Whispers suddenly rang out among the Death Eaters, wondering if something was wrong with their master for him to say such a thing. He had spent a good part of his life chasing after Potter, and now he was saying that the Auror was no longer important to him?

"Lord Voldemort knows that it is...shocking information," Damian said, referring to his true identity in the third person, "But there is another person who interests me, yet also threatens my very being. Her name is Sakura Kinomoto, a recent exchange student from Japan. It seems Hogwarts is experimenting with allowing foreign students."

"So...how is a little girl a threat to you, my lord?" Amycus asked.

"She possesses the most powerful deck of magical cards," Damian explained, tapping his fingers impatiently on the armchair he was sitting in. "With those deck of cards in her hands, she is more powerful than me, and I cannot allow that."

"So you're saying we should eliminate her, correct?" A young dark wizard asked.

"There will be no eliminations, Killian," Damian said softly. "Though you may attack those who stand in your way, capture the girl, but do not harm her."

"How will we know what she looks like?" Dolohov asked. He, along with Augustus Rookwood, were the last of the Death Eaters that recently escaped from the wizarding prison.

"Kinomoto is easy to spot. However, if you need to see what she looks like..." With a wave of his hand, a magical seeing pool appeared, showing Sakura in the courtyard, having recently returned from Hogsmeade. Now she was writing a letter to her friends and family back home.

'_Tomoyo-chan, guess what? I went to Hogsmeade for the first time today, and it's an adorable little town!' _Sakura thought as she composed the letter to her best friend.

'_Anyway, Professor Sprout announced the date of the dance last month, and I regret I didn't tell you this sooner. It's going to be on my birthday! I was surprised when it was announced. Syaoran-kun asked me out quickly, which took me by surprise. I didn't think he would want to attend the dance-it doesn't seem like his kind of thing. I'm glad he asked though. ^^ I'm glad that you gave me all those wonderful outfits, though some of them aren't to my taste-sorry, Tomoyo-chan! Anyway, how are you holding up? I feel sad that this year, you won't be able to celebrate my birthday with me! However, I'm sure we can figure out a way-I'd hate for you to miss it. _

_Your best friend,_

_Sakura.' _

Sakura surveyed the contents of her letter carefully before folding it into thirds and inserting it into an envelope. In large kana, she wrote out Tomoyo's name, then headed for the Owlery to deliver her letter. After sending one of the school owls off with her letter, instead of leaving immediately, she hung around, staring out at the beautiful scenery that the height of the Owlery had to offer. Though the air was chilly, it didn't bother her much. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, the musky scent in the Owlery and the fresh scent of the outside mixing together. She then left.

"Oi, Sakura!" Hagrid called, spotting her.

Sakura turned towards the large half-giant. "What is it, Hagrid-sensei?" she asked politely.

"Think you can lend me a hand?"

Sakura nodded and walked towards him. "Yes. What do you need help with?"

"Well, you see, I have a half-brother...he's being a bit difficult lately, and I was thinking, with you being so kind an' all..."

Sakura smiled. "Sure!"

Comforting a giant was the last thing that Sakura had expected. She knew Hagrid was half-giant, but she had thought his half-brother would be the same height as him, not...larger. Gulping, she glanced up at the large giant before her, meandering around.

"Grawp," Hagrid called. "I'd like you to meet Sakura!"

Sakura swallowed a gulp and smiled cheerfully up at Gwarp. "Nice to meet you, Grawp!" She glanced over at Hagrid. "Uhh..."

"Don't worry, I know about your, ah, special abilities. All the teachers do. Only the students don't," Hagrid said. "You're not allowed to use your special abilities in the school, but I reckon no one's watching you here."

Sakura smiled. "Thanks, Hagrid." Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a card, one that was new and wholly her own creation. _Music_, she thought, kissing the card. It glowed. Instantaneously, music began to fill the air, with the tune that Sakura had in mind. Taking a deep breath, she began to sing. While her singing had improved, she still didn't think it was comparable to Tomoyo's. At the moment, Grawp didn't look like he was being difficult, and while there were probably other methods to tame the giant, using music to sooth him was the first thing that came to her mind. For a magical creature that lived in the forest, she didn't think using Flower or Wood on him would be very effective.

_"To the familiar days, the familiar distance, baby I say goodbye for a while__  
__My favorite gingko tree, too, I won't be able to see you for a while__  
__The first time I traveled by myself, I felt a bit lonely_

_I'm sure I'll be fine reminding myself so I gathered all my courage__  
__It's a small step, but it's all right; all I can do now is to believe__  
__Door to tomorrow is right there; maybe I'll try to do a little more than I'm able to do."__  
_

She was initially alarmed when Grawp suddenly scooped her into the air, but relaxed when she realized that he just wanted to hear her better; it made sense, since her voice must have sounded so small to him. A quick look down at the ground showed that Hagrid was pleased at how Grawp was behaving. Sakura smiled gently at Hagrid's half-brother before continuing.

"_Wide world, long journey, baby I say hello everyone_  
_My hands are small but I'll grab a chance to realize my dream  
__I was afraid of the world that I saw for the first time and always acting tough_

_But when I shed tears I felt refreshed__  
__It's a small step but it's alright; all I can do now is to sing__  
__Door to tomorrow is waiting for me, someday I'll come closer day by day_

_Even if I'm slow it's alright, one step two step let's walk with having fun__  
__Door to tomorrow is right there, someday I'll come closer day by day__  
__I'm sure it will be a pleasant travel__._"

A few notes lingered in the air for a few seconds before eventually dying out. Sakura smiled at Grawp. "Do you like it?" she asked gently.

Grawp nodded, giving her a fond look.

"Thank you for helping out, Sakura. He's been lonely since Harry, Ron, and Hermione left, so he hasn't had anyone to play with him," Hagrid said as Grawp set her back down.

"How sad," Sakura commented, looking up at the giant, who went over to a nearby tree and sat down. She made her way over to Hagrid's half-brother and smiled cheerfully at him. "I look forward to being good friends with you during my time here at Hogwarts! _Yoroshiku onegaishimasu_ (please take good care of me)!" She then bowed briefly before straightening up again. A giggle escaped her lips as she watched Grawp awkardly attempt to bow back to her.

"That's her?" Killian asked. He whistled. "Cute little thing."

Twenty seconds later, Killian was on the ground, his face contorted in pain. Damian looked down on Killian coldly.

"There will be no silly flirting with the enemy, do you understand?"

Killian swallowed and nodded as he gathered himself and rose to his feet, although with some trouble since he still felt like he was in pain from the Cruciatus Curse. "Yes, my lord."

"On that day, wait for my signal," Damian said, his voice authoritative; no one dared interrupt him. "Just in case you fools didn't hear me the first time, capture the girl, but do not harm her. However, I suspect she will come of her own accord. It is my impression that her weakness is the same as Potter's-she hates seeing her dearest friends get hurt. If she does not come willingly, forcefully capture her. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my lord," was the collective response.

* * *

A/N: Happy New Year! Please review. :) The song Sakura is singing to Grawp is called Travel by Juniel.


	18. Untitled

A/N: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP and Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. That said, let's get on with the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 18: Untitled

_"Where...am I?" Sakura murmured sleepily, opening her eyelids halfway. Through drowsy eyes, she took in her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was that she was lying on a comfy bed with clean white sheets. Next, she noticed that while the room she was in was small, it was also spacious. That spacious feeling could be attributed to the large bay window, which let the glow of the moonlight bath every object in its path. Other than a large mirror and one armchair, there wasn't anything else in the room. _

_A frown adorned her delicate features. Where was she? This surely was not her bed or room. Slipping off the bed, she made her way over to the bay window and peered out, her hands pressed against the glass. She could see a garden and a fountain below. Just then, the sound of the doorknob turning caught her attention, but she was too afraid to turn around to see who it was. She could hear the door open and close behind her, hear the footsteps slowly approaching. Her breath hitched in her throat when the footsteps stopped, and she could sense that the stranger was directly behind her. With as much courage as she could muster, she slowly turned around, her nightgown swishing around her delicate body. _

_What she saw made her almost scream. She couldn't see much, as the being was cloaked with a hood that covered its eyes, but what she could see were two pairs of red, snakelike eyes peering back at her, eyes that were cold and full of malice. Her mind screamed at her to run, sensing danger, but her body refused to move. All she could do was stare, wide-eyed and frightened, at the red eyes of the mysterious being before her. Slowly, the mysterious being raised its hand, revealing long, slender fingers, pale and bony white. Sakura looked curiously at the hand, wondering what this being was going to do. With a little bit of fascination, she watched as the hand glowed in front of her forehead. As she watched the hand, she felt extremely sleepy again. Her eyelids drooped, and the last thing she heard before her body collapsed in a heap on the floor was the sound of evil laughter. _

Sakura shot up in bed, eyes wide. Glancing around, she sighed with relief when she realized that she was in her own bed in the girls' bedchamber of the Hufflepuff dormitories. Still, that dream was unsettling. She was pretty sure the mysterious being in this dream was the same one as the mysterious being that left her to die in her other nightmare. Who was he? What did he want with her? With a shake of her head, she laid back down and tried her best to go back to sleep.

At breakfast, Sakura ate in silence, her mind not fully there in the present. Hugo waved a hand in front of her face, but she didn't notice. While she ate, she spaced out often while pondering over her dream.

"Is it me, or does Sakura not look as cheerful?" Al asked in a low voice to his little sister at the Gryffindor table. Lily nodded.

Syaoran frowned; he didn't like it whenever Sakura felt sad. It pained him to see her in such a state. Silently, he made a bouquet of cherry blossom flowers, her favorite, appear with his wand and made his way over to the Hufflepuff table. However, before he could give her the bouquet of flowers, another student was holding a single rose out to her. To his annoyance and confusion, it was Damian. He knew from experience that Damian was cold and aloof, so why was he presenting Sakura with a flower? Sakura, who was taken by surprise to see the rose offered to her, became even more surprised when she realized who it was.

Not looking directly at her, Damian cleared his throat. "I'm not one for...compassion, but a smile suits you better than a frown."

Sakura widened her eyes in surprise. She didn't expect such nice words to come from Damian. Behind him, Syaoran clenched his teeth in anger and tightened the hand that wasn't holding the bouquet of cherry blossoms into a fist. At the staff table, Eriol lightly coughed. This boy was using the same line he had used on Sakura the morning after he had first transferred to Tomoeda Elementary when they were eleven.

Slowly, Sakura's lips curved up into a smile as she accepted the rose from Damian. "Thank you." Her smile was reflected in her eyes as she thanked the boy. Suddenly, Damian was pushed off to the side, and Syaoran shoved his bouquet of flowers into Sakura's face.

"Hoeee!" she cried out in shock. After she got over the initial shock, she glanced at the bouquet of flowers. "For me?"

Syaoran nodded.

Smiling as she accepted the bouquet of flowers, she said softly yet cheerfully, "Thank you, Syaoran."

"You know I don't like it when you are sad," Syaoran said. "What's on your mind?"

Sakura shook her head. "I just had a strange dream, that's all. Don't worry, I'm alright."

Syaoran didn't believe it, but he nodded anyway. "Okay." He bent down and gave Sakura a quick kiss on the forehead before returning to his table. As he passed Damian, he sent his fellow Housemate one of his famous death glares. Damian calmly looked back at Syaoran without batting an eye.

"Look, we've got mail!" Hugo suddenly shouted, pointing to a spot in the ceiling. Sure enough, owls were flying in, carrying envelopes and packages. Students held their hands out as their letters and packages were released from the air into their waiting arms. Sakura was surprised when she found out that she had one addressed to her-she hadn't expected a response so quickly. Not only did she receive a letter, it appeared that she also received a package as well. Opening the letter first, she read it.

_Dearest Sakura-chan,_

_It makes me so happy to get a letter from you! I always cherish every letter I get from you. Li-kun asked you out to the dance? As expected of him, ohohohoho! It makes me so very sad that I cannot physically celebrate your birthday with you this year; next year, I will throw a super duper extravagant birthday party for you to make up for my missing your birthday this year, though I'm sure you will have a lovely time spending your birthday with Li-kun at the dance! There's a dress that I have packed for you that I particularly want you to wear for the dance-it's the white high-low one with the sweetheart neckline. Please ask Hiiragizawa-kun to take a picture of an adorable you wearing one of my creations-it would be such a pleasure for me! _

_Love,_

_Tomoyo_

_P.S. I sent you a package! Your brother says he's been a pain in the butt, so I had him live with me, but he said he misses you terribly, so I had to send him to you! _

Sakura frowned, staring with dotted eyes at the letter. It seemed like Tomoyo would never change, but then again, she loved Tomoyo for that. However, the P.S. caught her attention. What exactly did Tomoyo mean by that? Wait...it couldn't be...could it? Hurriedly she grabbed hold of the package and yanked the box lids open. She nearly fell out of her seat when a tiny little golden creature flew up to her face and hugged her cheek with its tiny paws.

"SAAAAAKUUUUUUURAAAAAAAAAA, I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" the creature spoke, ignoring the hundreds of gaping mouths. "YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH I HAD TO ENDURE THAT MEAN BROTHER OF YOURS! HE WOULDN'T GIVE ME PUDDING OR SWEETS WHEN I ASKED-I HAD TO GET YUE TO TELL THE SNOW BUNNY TO BRING SOME SWEETS OVER FOR ME! Tomoyo gave me lots and lots of sweets once I temporarily moved in with her, BUT IT'S NOT THE SAME WITHOUT YOUUUUU. WAAAAAAHHH, SO GLAD TO BE BACK WITH MY MISTRESS!"

Sakura's face was red. Bright red. Hastily, she pried Kero off her cheek. "Ahahaha..." she laughed nervously, glancing around at all the quizzical eyes. "Umm...everyone, this is Kero-chan. He's my...my...my..." Her head hung. "I don't know." She very well couldn't say "guardian beast", because not only would that raise questions, but in his false form, Kero looked more like a stuffed animal than a beast.

"He's a stuffed animal," Syaoran said flatly, crossing his arms. "A greedy, fat, lazy stuffed animal."

"YOU'RE here, too?" Kero shouted angrily as he flew over to Syaoran. "Don't call me a stuffed animal, KID."

"I'm not a kid!" Syaoran snarled.

Both their eyes met and engaged in a brief death glare contest before Syaoran scoffed and slapped Kero away from his face.

Sakura groaned as she sunk in her seat. "I'm doomed."

"Keroberos," Eriol said, standing up from his seat at the staff table. "I know you're happy to see Sakura, but it would be beneficial to all of us if you save the dramatics for after breakfast. As for the rest of you, if you have any questions about Keroberos, or as Miss Kinomoto fondly calls him, Kero-chan, please direct those questions to me and not poor Miss Kinomoto. Of course, there's more to Keroberos than his stuffed animal appearance." Eriol then sat down. Sakura mouthed a thank you to him. He smiled back at her.

"Hey, look at this," Al said, nudging James and Lily in the sides once the commotion was over. He had the Daily Prophet in his hand and was pointing to something on the front page. James took the newspaper from Al's hand and glanced at the front page. On the front cover was an animated image (Syaoran still didn't know how wizards did it) of Kingsley Shacklebolt standing in front of what seemed like flashing cameras, flocked by Aurors Harry Potter and Ron Weasley behind. In large black font beneath the image were the words "AZKABAN PRISON BREAKOUT. A FIRST IN 28 YEARS-HAVE THE REINFORCED SECURITY MEASURES WEAKENED?"

"It says that there are 10 escaped convicts," Lily said, pointing to a smaller print. "Dad says here that all of them were former Death Eaters associated with Voldemort, and Uncle Ron says it's a mystery how it happened, especially since the explosion that allowed these convicts to escape came from outside the cell, and all the guards were completely knocked out without detection."

"What does this mean?" Al asked.

James frowned. "We'll have to wait until we get more word from Dad."

Soon, nearly everyone was focused on the news instead of Sakura and her new little friend. Sakura looked worriedly at the front news, and cringed at how deranged the convicts' animated mug shots looked.

Noticing her discomfort, Hugo said assuringly, "Don't worry, Sakura. Dad and Uncle Harry are probably working hard to get them back to Azkaban where they belong."

"They look so...evil," Sakura murmured. "By the way, what exactly are Death Eaters? Are they like, dark creatures or something?"

"No, they were Voldemort's followers, and they were all human. You could say they were Voldemort's cronies, sent to do his evil bidding," Rose explained, joining her brother at the Hufflepuff table since she was getting bored over at the Ravenclaw table. "They did pretty horrible stuff-remember what we learned in History of Magic about the First and Second Wizarding War?"

Sakura nodded as she glanced back down at the newspaper. "How horrible!"

It irked Damian so to hear all these students mention his real name so casually without fear. Of course, they were under the impression that he was dead, not knowing that a reborn-dark lord was walking among them in disguise, with only one person who somehow knew about his true identity, someone he came to hate and despise just as much as the late Dumbledore. Soon, he would show these pathetic children not to speak his name so lightly.

After breakfast, Regina followed Damian up to the clock tower, where he looked down upon the courtyard and the students with dislike.

"Why were you being so _nice_ to her?" Regina seethed. "That's not like you, my lord."

"We can't have her of all people be suspicious of us," Damian answered back. "She's the key subject in our plan."

Regina scoffed. "She's denser than a troll. She wouldn't have suspected anything. And what has her dream got to do with us?"

_'More than you know,' _Damian thought bitterly. He had glimpsed into her mind with his brilliant Legilimency skills, saw what she had refused to say to her Slytherin boyfriend, probably because she didn't want him to worry unnecessarily. He recognized those red, snakelike eyes of the cloaked figure in the dream of hers, and knew from spying into her mind that, if the girl's dreams were prophetic, his plan was going to succeed.

"Bella. Have we struck a...deal with the mangy werewolves yet?"

Regina nodded, her eyes narrowing as her lips curved up into a smirk. "That mutt Greyback died a long time ago, but it seems like he's trained the little pups well. Just as bloodthirsty as he was. Their leader was bitten as a young boy and appears to be following in the footsteps of his mentor Greyback. He and his little pack align with us."

"Excellent," Damian said.

* * *

"Kero-chan, you almost got me into trouble," Sakura protested as she, Syaoran, and Kero gathered in the Forbidden Forest, away from listening eyes and prying eyes.

"You're in a magical school, what's the trouble?" Kero asked, folding his tiny paws over his chest.

"Well, they don't know that I'm the Mistress of the Sakura Cards yet. They also think the Sakura Cards are still Clow Cards-no one knows about the cards' change of master yet," Sakura pointed out. "Eriol-kun and all the teachers told me to strictly keep my real magical identity a secret from the other students. I've mainly been using wand magic with this." She withdrew her wand from her cloak and held it up for Kero to see. Kero looked blankly at the stick.

"So witches and wizards use these to perform magic?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes. I haven't mastered the advanced spells yet since this is my first year here, but Syaoran and the others have been helping me. Eriol-kun's also teaching me how to call on the cards without using the staff as a medium and nonverbally."

"Ooh!" Kero was impressed.

Sakura beamed. "Anyway, if you're ever hungry, just go into the Hogwarts kitchen. I heard the House elves can whip up anything for you if you ask nicely."

"You mean...I can have an endless supply of pudding?!" Kero cried, his beady little eyes glittering in awe.

Sakura nodded. "Yep!"

"WAAHHH, I LOVE THIS SCHOOL," Kero declared, clicking the heel of his two lower paws together in glee.

Syaoran scoffed once again. "Greedy."

Hanging her head, Sakura let out an exasperated sigh as Kero and Syaoran went into another spat. Here they go again.

Upon returning to the castle, Sakura took Kero down to the basement, where the entrance to the Hufflepuff Common Room was. After knocking on the correct barrel the correct number of times in the corrrect rhythm, the lid of the barrel she had been tapping on swung open, allowing her to crawl in.

"Ooh, interesting," Kero noted from within her pocket.

Sakura smiled. Upon emerging from the tunnel, she entered the cozy Common Room, with its roaring fireplace, comfy yellow chairs, and a portrait of Helga Hufflepuff above the mantle.

"This is the Common Room," she said, giving Kero a tour. "That's the boys' dormitories over there, and over here is the girls' dormitories." She went in through a round door on the left side, which revealed more doors leading to various rooms. Going up a short circular staircase, she went to the room at the top. Upon entering, the first thing Kero noticed were all the four-poster bed, covered with patchwork quilts, and copper bed warmers that hung on the walls.

"And this is where I'm staying, along with Roxanne-san, Junie-san, Emma-san, and Suzy-san. There's five girls to a room." She pointed to a four-poster bed to her immediately left. "And that's my bed."

"Wow, Sakura, you're living comfortable here!" Kero remarked. "What about the kid?"

Sakura laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her head. "Ehehehe...um, I don't know what the Slytherin's dorrmitory looks like. We're not allowed to enter other Houses' dormitories. All I know is that their dormitory is in the dungeons."

Kero guffawed. "Dungeons. Very fitting for a kid like him."

Sakura scowled and put her hands on her hips. "Kero-chan!" she scolded.

"Ahahahaha!" Kero laughed, albeit nervously.

Unfolding her arms, Sakura let it swing by her sides as she glanced down at the ground, suddenly finding it interesting. "Hey, Kero-chan, how are...my big brother and dad doing? Are they...okay?"

Kero frowned as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Well, they miss you a lot, that's for sure. I can't say much about your big brother since he's usually away at university except on weekends, and even then, he's usually staying over at the snow rabbit's house. But your dad is rather lonely, being there in the house by himself. I mean, both his kids are-h-h-hey! Don't cry!"

Noticing that tears were forming on his Mistress' face, Kero abruptly cut off. He flew up and gently patted her on her forehead.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" he began, but Sakura cut him off.

"No, it's okay. I just got a little emotional," she said with a small smile, wiping away her tears. "Poor dad, though. I really should write to him more often. I haven't been writing to him enough!"

"If it makes you feel better, Tomoyo occasionally comes over to keep him company," Kero offered.

Sakura smiled. "Really? Tomoyo-chan's such a great friend!" Opening the trunk at the foot of her bed, she took out her Hogwarts: A History and The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5 textbooks, a couple of scrolls, a quill, and an inkpot, and stuffed them into her bookbag. "Anyway, Kero-chan, I'm going to go study, so feel free to do whatever you want. If anyone asks about you, remember to make up some kind of excuse about what you are. Something like how you're an extremely rare creature, one of a kind, or something. Also, the kitchen is directly across, so if you want food, just head out of the common room, and there's a door along the wall behind you. Tell the House Elves that I sent you and uhh...that you're my familiar or something like that."

Kero grinned. "You can count on me!"

"Thanks, Kero-chan!" Sakura grinned back. "You're the best!" She then dashed out of the Hufflepuff dormitories to head to the library to study and work on her homework.

* * *

Alone in his darkened office, Professor Draco Malfoy stared at his left arm, specifically on the tattoo of a skull with a snake protruding out of the skull's mouth on his forearm. For the past 24 years or so, the tattoo had been extremely faint, almost to the point that it was invisible. However, it was now dark again, with an intense boldness. A copy of the Daily Prophet sat at his desk, with the front page detailing the recent breakout from Azkaban and how Potter, Weasley, and Shacklebolt were working to round up the escaped convicts.

Sitting down at his desk, he took out a blank parchment from one of the drawers and laid it on top of the desk. Dipping his quill into the ink pot, he began to write. He hated having to consult with his old enemy, now turned mutual acquaintances, but he was indebted to Potter for keeping him and his family out of Azkaban. He was no longer the coward that he was when he was a boy. This was the right thing to do, as this time, he had a family to protect. He had been visited by the reincarnated Dark Lord himself, felt his anger and wrath. Draco did not want to believe it then, but he knew he had to face the truth-if the Dark Lord had truly indeed returned, he did not want his beloved son and wife to be subjected to such evil. He himself had lived through it, seen what it was truly like to tamper with the Dark Arts, and no longer thought it was glorious.

Pressing the tip of the quill on the parchment, he began to write.

_Potter, _

_I am writing to inform you..._

When he finished composing the letter, he folded the parchment into thirds and stuffed it into a letter, which he then sealed shut. As soon as he sealed the envelope, a knock on his office door interrupted him. Without looking up, Draco said loudly,

"Enter."

The door opened, followed by the sound of slow footsteps and the closing of the door. Draco glanced up at this point, surveying the Gryffindor student who was standing by the door with his arms crossed and his dark hair falling over his brown eyes.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," Draco said curtly. "You know why you were called here, don't you?"

"For detention for failing to follow instructions in your class properly, which led to me accidentally blowing up my cauldron," James said sarcastically.

Draco glowered at the Gryffindor. While Albus was the spitting image of Harry Potter, James was the one who inherited Harry's and his late paternal grandfather's snarky personality, though of course, Draco did not know anything about the late James Potter.

"Yes, that is correct," Draco said curtly. "You know, I have just finished composing a letter to your father regarding important matters. Would you like me to write another letter to him detailing your mischiefs? I am quite sure that as busy as your father is, Mr. Potter, he wouldn't like to hear how you have been misbehaving."

James scoffed while rolling his eyes at his Potions professor. "What's my punishment?" he asked.

Draco gestured at all the jars in his office. "Your task is to check the freshness of the Potion ingredients and replace them if necessary. I would also like for you to replenish ingredients we are low on. Gillyweed is one of them. There are extra supplies in the supply closet. Get to it, Potter." He ignored James' grumbles of "why couldn't you have done it yourself" and "now I understand why dad hated you" and left his office to go post the letter.


	19. The Card Reading

Chapter 19: Card Reading

Harry's hands shook as he clutched the parchment with Draco's handwriting tightly. He swallowed hard in an attempt to remove the lumpy feeling he felt in his throat. Over his shoulder, Ron and Hermione read the contents of the letter, just as shocked as he was. The contents of the letter read,

_Potter,_

_I am writing to inform you that I may know who is behind the recent Azkaban breakout. I regret not informing the Ministry about this earlier, but at the time, I had thought that what I had seen was a very convincing illusion. I hope you will understand once I finish explaining. _

_You do remember how we have learned no magic in the world could ever bring back the dead. Whether someone has successfully mastered the art of Necromancy or not, I do not know, but what I do know is this: the Dark Lord has returned. I do not quite understand it, but he has. My guess is dark magic beyond the scope of what we know or what has been recorded was at work here. He has visited me on that fateful Christmas Day and terrorized me and my family. _

_As mentioned before, you very well know that I have a family now. I love my wife and son dearly and do not wish for the Dark Lord to harm them because the Malfoy family changed allegiance at the tide of the battle 24 years ago. _

_I cannot believe I am saying this, as I really hate being indebted to you, but I implore you and the Ministry to do all that you can do to help us professors protect the students if the Dark Lord should attempt to attack the school once again. Since his revealing of his return to me, the Dark Lord has laid low, until now. I believe he is planning something big, but what, I do not know. The Dark Mark on my arm is blacker and bolder than it has been in 24 years. That, Potter, is another indication that I believe-no, know that the Dark Lord has been resurrected.. _

_Yours truly,_

_Professor Draco Malfoy _

Unconsciously, Harry's hand went up to the faded lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Even though it no longer harbored a Horcrux, it was instinctual for Harry to raise his hand to his scar at the mention of Voldemort. Rolling the parchment back up and resecuring it with a red ribbon, he set it back down on his desk. Then, out of frustration, he aimed his wand at his desk and made a sweeping motion with it. As he did so, the items on his desk fell off, including a small fish tank. Shocked, Hermione immediately withdrew her wand and repaired the fish tank with a simple "Reparo" spell, then quickly magicked the fish back into the tank before they could die.

"Harry, I know you are frustrated, but this is animal cruelty!" Hermione scolded as she bent down and glanced into the fish tank to make sure the fish were alright.

_"_I have a right to be frustrated!" Harry growled, slamming his hands onto his desk. "Voldemort is somehow back. How? We destroyed all his Horcuxes. Nagini was the last one. His soul was so broken that there was no way he could have been reincarnated. And yet Malfoy gives compelling evidence that he is, in fact, back, otherwise the Dark Mark wouldn't be so prominent. And it makes sense why the only ones who escaped from Azkaban were former Death Eaters."

"I know," Ron said. "But he's back, and like Malfoy said in his letter, we have to do everything we can to protect the students. Harry, if he's back, he's probably looking out for your blood."

Harry laughed dryly. "I bet. Come on, we should show this letter to Kingsley and start preparing to defend Hogwarts if necessary."

* * *

"Since the ball is coming up in less than two months, it is time for you students to learn how to dance properly," Neville said as they met in an empty classroom on the fifth floor. "I do not want you lot to dance like flopping fish or like hormone-crazed Hippogriffs during their mating season."

"Why are we here again?" Regina grumbled, leaning her face on one hand that was propped up on one elbow. She hated dances with a passion.

Syaoran raised his hand. "What if we already know how to dance?"

"You do?" Neville looked surprised. "Well then, Mr. Li, if you could be so kind as to demonstrate. Who shall your partner be?"

"Sakura," answered Syaoran, boldly and confidently. Sakura glanced up at him in surprise. What? She hadn't formally danced since the play that ended in disaster when they were twelve! She knew about body memories, but didn't think her body, particularly her feet, would remember how to do the waltz three years later. But Syaoran simply walked up to her and extended a hand out to her, waiting for her to take it. She stared at the hand hesitantly, then glanced up into his eyes.

They were full of warmth, with a look that told her that everything would be alright. Trusting him, Sakura placed her hand in his. Gently he pulled her up and led her to the middle of the room. He then nodded at Neville, who signaled to Filch to begin the music, which was played on an old-looking record player. Both Sakura and Syaoran were baffled as to how such a thing still existed. It was 2021 now! Nevertheless, as soon as music began to fill the air, Syaoran began to lead, taking hold of her left hand with his right while placing his left hand on her waist; in the meantime, Sakura placed her right hand on his shoulder. Sakura was surprised to find her body naturally falling into step with Syaoran's movements, their dancing perfectly complimenting each other's. Throughout their demonstration, they never broke eye contact. When Syaoran stepped back, Sakura stepped forward. When he stepped forward, she stepped back. When he went to twirl her, she did so naturally.

"A life goes by, romantic dreams will stop," he sang softly into her ear, causing her to blush.

"So I bid mine goodbye and never knew  
So close was waiting, waiting here with you  
And now forever I know  
All that I wanted to hold you  
So close..."

By now, Sakura's face was completely red as he twirled her around one last time, then dipped her, their noses almost touching. Was it suddenly hot in there? Sakura didn't know. All she knew was that she was blushing very hard, their faces were almost touching, and it felt like time had completely stopped.

"Wow," she finally managed to breath out.

"Learning ballroom dances was part of my training," Syaoran said dismissively.

"Ah."

The sound of clapping brought the two back down to earth. Syaoran straightened up, pulling Sakura up with him. Together, the two of them bowed.

"Wonderful demonstration, you two," Neville said, still clapping. "Alright, the rest of you, pair up!"

Scorpius went up to Rose and held his hand out to her. "May I have this dance?"

Rose rolled his eyes, but took his hand anyway. "Don't pretend to be quite the gentleman, Scorpius."

Scorpius chuckled. "You're just scared our parents won't approve of our secretly budding relationship."

"Oh, it's not my parents that wouldn't approve," Rose said offhandedly. "It's my grandfather. Dad once said if I ever got too comfy with you, grandfather would throw a fit."

"Ah, who cares about him?" Scorpius scoffed, earning him a whack to the head from Rose and a roll of her eyes.

Meanwhile, Al paired up with Giselle Byrd, a pretty Gryffindor student with pastel pink ombre hair. Since Sakura and Syaoran already demonstrated their skills with each other, they were asked to pair up with other students. Once nearly everyone was paired up, with the exception of Damian and Regina, who made it clear that they would not be doing any dancing, Neville began to instruct the class on how to properly dance. After two hours of instructions, the Herbology professor sent them on their way, giving them clear instructions to practice.

The rest of their Monday went by as usual. At the end of lunch, Sakura snuck out some rice pudding, Kero's favorite, and took it to her bedroom for him to eat, even though he had access to the Hogwarts kitchen (and was glad that Sakura lived so close to said kitchen). She then attended her afternoon classes with Al, Scorpius, Rose, and Syaoran. Free time involved Quidditch practice.

Eventually, night fell and it was time for dinner. The feast, as usual, was grand, though not on the same scale as the Welcoming Feast at the beginning of the year during the Sorting. Since OWLs and NEWTs were fast approaching, the chatter of the students mostly involved such topics.

"Kinomoto is SO lucky that she gets to be exempt from these stupid OWLs," Scorpius grumbled.

"Hey, watch where you're flinging that," Syaoran said in annoyance, ducking because Scorpius almost flung a spoonful of soup at him.

Scorpius set his spoon down and rested his arms on the table as he looked intently at Syaoran. "You don't seem particularly worried."

Syaoran folded his arms in front of his chest and closed his eyes. "Because I'm not. Honestly, they just want you to regurgitate stuff that we've learned, and possibly apply them to real life situations. We've been learning the theory and all, but what about out there?"

"Smart git," Scorpius muttered under his breath. "Do you have any idea what you want to do yet?" He asked louder this time.

"My destiny is to become Leader of the Li Clan," Syaoran said simply.

"Right," Scorpius muttered. "Well, I plan on working in the Ministry after I graduate." He glanced over at Damian and Regina. "Hey, you two are transfers, too!"

"So we are," Regina said sarcastically. "What of it?"

"Don't tell me you two also get an exemption from taking the OWLs!"

"Don't be silly, Malfoy," Damian said coolly. "I plan on taking it anyway."

The matter of the OWLs was soon dropped, as none of the Fifth Years liked talking about it. After dinner, Sakura, Syaoran, and Eriol went up to the Room of Requirement to train. Since she had first started her training, Sakura had improved well. Not only did she master how to use the cards without her Star Wand and how to mentally call on them, but she had also created two new Cards of her own: the Technology, which would allow her to use Muggle electronic devices in Hogwarts and other areas with high magical interference, and the Veil, which, depending on her will, could make her invisible to others or conceal her identity.

Sakura noticed that Syaoran's magic usage had also grown. She was still amazed that he no longer had to use ofudas-now he could make his sword materialize out of thin air with his hands, and with just his index and middle fingers pressed together, make a jet of water, a stream of fire, a blast of air, or a bolt of lightning come out and join forces with the sword. Both of them, Clow's descendant and Clow's successor, had grown well.

"Alright, off to bed, you two," Eriol said after their training was over. "You still have classes tomorrow, and I don't want you two to oversleep. Especially you, Sakura-san."

Sakura blushed in embarrassment. "Good night, Eriol-kun."

"Night," Syaoran said before the two of them left the Room of Requirement.

"Sweet dreams," Eriol said cheerfully.

That night, Sakura had the same dream again, but this time, there appeared to be some sort of beastly creature in the room with her, along with the same cloaked figure. She warily watched the creature, making sure to keep her distance from it while also keeping an eye on the cloaked figure with the red eyes.

_"Who...are you?" she murmured, trying to hide the fact that she was scared out of her mind. To her astonishment, the cloaked figure began to speak._

_"I...am...Lord..." _

"Sakura? SAKURA. SAKURA."

Sakura groaned and mumbled, but did not wake. She needed to hear what the cloaked figure was trying to tell her. However, the sound of someone calling her name had interrupted her dream, brought her out of the mysterious room. Slowly, her eyelids fluttered open to reveal two pairs of beady little eyes.

Two pairs of beady little eyes that were TOO close to her.

With a scream, Sakura shot up and whacked the offending thing away from her. A crash soon followed, and Sakura slowly opened one eye. She blinked in surprise when she saw Kero crash against the opposite wall.

"Oh, Kero-chan, it's just you," she sighed in relief.

Angrily, Kero recovered from the nasty treatment he received from her and flew over to her. "What was that all about?!"

With a sheepish grin, Sakura apologized. "Sorry, Kero-chan. I was just startled, that's all."

"You were mumbling in your sleep," Kero said. "What's up, kiddo?"

Sakura hesitated, then told him about her dream. While she related the story to her Guardian Beast, he floated in front of her and nodded. When she finished, he folded his arms.

"Hmm, it seems that someone is after you, but you've probably already figured that out. Remember, there are no coincidences in this world. In any case, you should do a card reading when you have time."

Sakura nodded. "I understand." She then went to change out of her pajamas and into her school uniform before leaving for breakfast. When she arrived in the Great Hall, she cheerfully greeted everyone with a loud "good morning!" and a wave before taking her place at the Hufflepuff table. Mail came, and Sakura saw that she received a letter from her father, who expressed that he, as usual, missed her, but wished her well and reminded her to eat well and to do well in her studies. With a soft smile, Sakura held the letter from her father close to her chest. Another package then came for her, though this one had tape with the words FRAGILE written all over it, and as a result, the owl delivering it swooped lower than usual. A card was taped to the rectangular-shaped package. Peeling it off, Sakura glanced at it.

_Hope you like it! -Yukito_

A sense of warmth washed over Sakura. Yukito had given her a gift! Even though she no longer had a silly childhood crush on her brother's best friend and lover, she still cherished Yukito's presence. Eagerly, she opened her package...and was confused and startled to see a beautiful acoustic guitar there. What? But she didn't play...suddenly, she remembered back to two summers ago, where she had caught her brother casually playing the guitar (and wondered why she wasn't musically talented like her brother or late mother, since she couldn't play an instrument except the recorder, and her singing was only average at best) and Yukito had asked her if she would like to learn how to play. Flustered, Sakura had answered that she would like to learn, but that she didn't trust her own abilities at playing musical instruments. Yukito had then taught her how to play, beginning with scales and a few chords, while Touya snickered in the background and teased her on her poor form, saying that a monster could play better than her.

Carefully, she lifted the guitar out of its box and weighed it in her hands. It felt heavy, yet light at the same time. What's more, her name was written in hiragana on the body of the guitar near the neck. Gingerly, her fingers plucked a few strings, letting their beautiful sounds echo. She knew the guitar would need to be tuned, and planned on asking either Syaoran or Eriol for help on that later when she had free time.

"Wow, a guitar!" Junie commented. Since she was a Muggle-born, she knew what the instrument was. "I didn't know you played."

Sakura smiled lightly. "I only started lessons two summers ago from my brother's best friend. My brother was too busy being annoying and mean to teach me."

She then magicked the guitar and its box out of the way with her wand, then enjoyed her breakfast before it was time to head off to class.

"Who...are you?" Sakura murmured in Potions as she absentmindedly stirred her potion. She then absentmindedly reached for one of the ingredients on the table...

"NO!" someone shouted. Before Sakura could react, her cauldron suddenly exploded, spewing the contents of her potion all over her workstation and all over her.

"Miss Kinomoto, is there a reason why you WERE NOT PAYING ATTENTION?" Professor Malfoy angrily demanded.

Cheeks flushed in embarrassment, Sakura bent over and apologetically bowed profusely over and over. "I'm sorry! It will not happen again!"

"Ten points from Hufflepuff," Professor Malfoy said as he cleaned up her mess with a flick of his wand. "And a detention for you, Miss Kinomoto. Report to me after dinner."

"Y-yes." Sakura hung her head in shame.

In Divination, her mind dozed off, not really there in the present as she absentmindedly participated. Of course, Professor Trelawney never noticed. Finally, after lunch and Care of Magical Creatures, Sakura had a break in her schedule. She rushed back into the Hufflepuff Common Room and into her bed chamber. Taking the Sakura Book out from her trunk, she opened it and took all the cards out.

"Alright, Sakura, you remember how to cut the cards, right?" Kero asked.

Sakura nodded. She first mixed the cards thoroughly with her left hand, then returned them to the pile, which she then cut into three with the same hand. Once she had cut the deck into threes, she put the cards back together into the same pile, still using her left hand. She then selected a few cards from the deck, face-down, and placed them in a particular order, so that when she had finished arranging the cards, they were laid out in a diamond shape, with one card at the top and bottom, two cards below the card at the top and two cards above the single card at the bottom, and three cards in the center.

"Alright, now close your eyes and say, 'Cards created by Clow and reborn under me, reply to my query'."

Closing her eyes, Sakura repeated Kero's words. The cards glowed at her request.

"Show before me the identity of the one who has been haunting my dreams.."

"Show before me the identity of the one who has been haunting my dreams."

She could feel a magical surge of energy surround her. When the magical energy died down, she opened her eyes and flipped the first card. The Windy. With a gasp, Kero pointed out,

"It seems that someone has found out about your true identity, Sakura! Tell me, have you let something slip?"

Sakura frowned and pondered over his question. "Well, someone once caught me..."

"Who?" Kero demanded.

"Damian-kun," Sakura said. "But he has dark eyes, not red eyes like I saw in my dream."

"In any case, Sakura, be careful," Kero warned. "Now, flip over the three cards."

Sakura obeyed, revealing the Veil, the Illusion, and the Shadow.

"Now flip over the last card, and you should have your answer."

Sakura did so, and was surprised to see The Dark. That meant whoever was after her was associated with the Dark Arts and a thirst for power. The three cards she had flipped over indicated that things weren't what they seemed and that whoever was after her was in disguise. It frightened her, to tell the truth. Quickly, she returned the cards to the book and put it safely back in her trunk. Noticing the worried expression on her face, Kero consoled her by patting her on the back.

"It's going to be fine, Sakura!" he said comfortingly. "If it's you, I'm sure everything will be alright."

Her lips curved up into a tiny smile at his comforting words. "You're right, Kero-chan. Anyway, I'm going to go work on my homework. Be good, okay?" She then left. Kero watched as she left, then muttered to himself,

"Be careful, Sakura. Whoever is after you must be powerful if they are able to penetrate your dreams."

* * *

A/N: Please review!


	20. Sakura and the Spring Ball

Chapter 20: Sakura and the Spring Ball

Knock knock.

Sakura nervously stood in front of a closed door in the dungeons, her fingers fidgeting with themselves. She felt bad for not paying attention in Potions and causing her own cauldron and its contents to explode. Curse her and her inability to stay focused whenever something was troubling her. Not only had she nodded off in Potions, she had nodded off in her other classes as well, and it didn't help that before dinner, she and Kero had done some fortune-telling with the Cards and predicted that a Dark wizard was after her.

The door opened in front of her, revealing a tall, slender man with sleek, white-blonde hair, cold gray eyes, and sharp, pointed features. He looked down at her, who seemed to have a worried expression on her face while also fidgeting nervously. A sigh escaped his throat. She was thinking about something else again.

"Miss Kinomoto."

Startled, Sakura snapped out of her worried daze and glanced up at Professor Malfoy. "Y-yes!" she stammered. "I-I'm sorry, I..."

Draco stepped aside to let her in. "Come inside, Miss Kinomoto, so I can discuss with you your punishment."

Nodding her head, Sakura murmured, "Yes, Professor Malfoy." While she had the bad habit of using the Japanese honorific _sensei_ for her other professors, who didn't mind the constant slip-up, Draco had made it very clear to her to address him as Professor Malfoy, not Malfoy-_sensei_, or else he would continually dock House points from Hufflepuff. She entered, walking past Draco as she did so. The door shut behind her. Making his way to his desk, Draco sat down while Sakura remained standing where she was.

"Well, don't just stand there," Draco snapped. "Come over here."

Sakura obeyed. Draco observed the young girl carefully-clearly, something was troubling her to the point where she couldn't even focus. Realizing that her mind had wandered again, Sakura shook her head furiously from side to side, then slapped her cheeks with her hands.

"I'm sorry," she apologized again. "So, what do I have to do?"

She felt uncomfortable when all Draco did was stare long and hard at her with those cold gray eyes of his. Finally, he leaned back in his chair. "What's troubling you?"

"E-eh?" She was startled at his question. Wasn't he supposed to dish out her punishment?

"Do you have bats in your ear, Miss Kinomoto?" Draco asked, annoyed. "I asked you what's troubling you."

Sakura cringed. "Right. Well...um..."

Noticing her hesitation, Draco let out another sigh. "Miss Kinomoto, I don't have all day. Please explain to me what's troubling you before I assign you your detention."

Sakura gulped. "Can't I just take the detention, no strings attached?" she pleaded.

"Miss Kinomoto, you _are_ aware that all of the professors here know about your special abilities, right?"

"Yes, but..."

"What makes me different?"

"Well...I..."

Yet another sigh escaped Draco's lips. "Miss Kinomoto, do you want me to use Veritaserum on you?"

"No."

"Then please explain what's troubling you. The other professors have expressed concern over you at dinner as well. You barely even touched your food. You're not the bright, spirited young witch the entire school knows. Speak."

Sakura hesitated once again. Then, dropping her head and letting the bangs cover her eyes so that Draco couldn't see much of her face, she said, in a soft voice, "I'm being hunted."

"What?" Draco could barely hear her. "Miss Kinomoto, I may not be hard of hearing, but I could barely hear any of that."

Sakura lifted her head and looked at her Potions professor with such intensity that it startled him. He had never seen that look in his student's eyes before, full of fear. With a shaky voice, she repeated, louder this time, "I'm being hunted. I don't know by who, but I know for sure that someone's after me. Several nights I get strange dreams that I'm alone in a room and there's this cloaked figure with red, snakelike eyes watching me. This recent dream, there was a beastly thing in the room along with the cloaked figure. Before these dreams, I had a nightmare where I was in a fiery red room, the same cloaked figure with the red snakelike eyes was there, and he was just standing there, untouched by the flames, watching me with cold eyes." She took a deep breath, and then continued. "Just an hour before dinner, Kero-chan and I did some fortune-telling with the Cards, and from that, we gathered that a dark wizard was after me, but the Cards don't reveal who. All we know is that whoever the dark wizard is that's after me, he's in disguise."

Draco's eyes widened at what his student was telling him. The mark on his left arm, covered up by his cloak, seemed to burn slightly stronger. Though she didn't give a clear description, he knew who the mysterious person in her dreams was. He only knew of one person with red, snakelike eyes. He eyed Sakura with such a strong intensity that she glanced down. Deciding to keep it a secret from her that it was Lord Voldemort she was seeing in her dreams in order to not make the girl even more worried and daze off in her classes again, he went straight to telling her her punishment instead.

"Your punishment is to clean the Prefect's bathroom on the fifth floor without the use of magic. Since you are used to such tasks, I trust there will be no complaints?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, Professor. By the way, what's the password? I mean, there must be a password if only Prefects can use it."

"Not just Prefects," Draco corrected. "Head Boys and Girls and Quidditch captains also have access to the bathroom. Your boyrfriend probably didn't tell you, but he's a Prefect, along with Miss Athena Carrow. Ask him for the password."

With wide eyes, Sakura gaped at her professor in wonder. He was right, Syaoran had never told her that he was one of the Slytherin Prefects! But why wouldn't he tell her that? She then reasoned that he probably thought it was an insignificant matter. Then snapping out of her reverie, she bowed to her Potions professor. "Punishment accepted, Professor. I'll get to it right away." She turned and was about to leave when Professor Malfoy called out to her.

"Hang on a minute, Miss Kinomoto."

"Hoe?" Sakura tilted her head to one side, confused.

Draco got up from his desk and walked over to a shelf. He scanned it for a bit, looking at all the different bottles of potions, before reaching up and grabbing a flask with a purple liquid. With a flick of his wand, he opened a drawer from his desk and levitated a small vial over to where he was standing. He then popped the cork off the top of the purple potion and poured some of its contents into the smaller vial before returning the flask to its place on the shelves. Beckoning the Hufflepuff to come over to him, he explained as he handed her the vial,

"This is the potion for dreamless sleep. It induces a dreamless sleep for the drinker and aids in recuperation. Drink this before you go to bed, and you should have a sound night of rest. Off you go."

Sakura stared wonderingly at the vial Draco had just given her, then beamed. "Thank you, Professor!" Taking the vial with her, she left his office.

* * *

"The password is Soap Suds," Syaoran told her after she found him out in the library, studying for his OWLs, although not as hard as his fellow peers. "Professor Malfoy's got you cleaning out our bathroom?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. How come you never told me you were Prefect?"

Syaoran shrugged. "Didn't think it was important. Our main job is to patrol the hallways to make sure students aren't breaking curfew. We're also responsible for showing First Years their way to the dormitories on the first day, helping out with holiday decorations, and watching over the younger students. Rose is a Prefect, too, for Ravenclaw." He looked up at her, saw her gaping, and smirked. "Don't you have a task to do?"

"O-oh! Right! Good luck with studying, Syaoran. Ganbatte ne!"

Syaoran smiled at her encouragement. "Thanks."

He watched as she skipped out of the library, then returned to his studying.

* * *

Draco coolly entered the Hog's Head, where he could see Aberforth Dumbledore behind the bar and giving him a calculated look. He gave a curt nod to the owner before proceeding upstairs, where he came face to face with his old enemies.

"If it isn't Potter," he taunted, although not as strongly as when they were students.

"Hello Malfoy," Hermione spoke. "Let's get on it with it, shall we?"

Draco nodded. "Right." He sat down at the table across from Harry and tapped his fingers on the table's surface. "I assume you've received my letter, Potter?"

Harry nodded. They were strictly there to talk business, nothing more. Still, he had his wand ready just in case Draco decided to try something. "It's worrisome that _he_ could be back," he said. "You said that the Dark Mark is appearing on your left arm again."

"That I did."

"Has it-"

"Burned as a sign that he's calling all the former Death Eaters who are still alive?" Draco narrowed his eyes. "Why, yes, Potter, it did. Which is more proof that the Dark Lord has returned." He then folded his arms. "But neither my father nor Aunt Bellatrix ever told me about magic that could raise the dead, bring them back to life."

"But he has," Harry said quietly.

"You and I know about the Dark Lord better than anyone," Draco said. "He's most likely rebuilding an army as we speak."

"To hunt me down, I bet," Harry said sarcastically. "Voldemort's gotta be looking for revenge."

To his surprise, Draco shook his head. What? Voldemort wasn't after him? "He's not after you, Potter."

A gasp escaped Hermione's mouth. "What? But he _hated_ Potter's existence!"

Draco shot her a sharp look. "You're looking at someone who also hated Potter's existence. But that's not the point here. The point is, he's after someone else, and it's not you, Potter."

"Who is it then?" Ron interjected.

Draco's attention turned to the redhead. "One of our students. Sakura Kinomoto."

"The new exchange student?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

Draco curtly nodded. "Yes. Earlier this week, she was distracted in my class and accidentally blew up her cauldron-"

"Goodness!"

"Will you shut it and let me FINISH, Granger?"

"Don't speak to my wife like that!"

"STOP IT, Ron! Malfoy, please continue."

Shooting a glare at Ron, who was glaring back at him, Draco continued, "As I was saying, she accidentally blew up her cauldron. Of course, I gave her detention and the task of cleaning out the Prefects' bathroom, since apparently cleaning's her favorite task-whenever she ends up with detention, she always begs for some cleaning task, odd girl, but that's not the point. The point is, Potter, I suspect that she's a seer-a dreamseer, to be exact. And from what it seems, she's a better one than that hag Trelawney, too."

"Oh, way to disrespect your fellow professor," Hermione said sarcastically.

"Go on," Harry said, intrigued by what Draco had said.

"When I asked her what was troubling her, since not only was she not paying attention in my class, she wasn't paying attention in her other classes either, according to the other professors during dinner that day, she was hesitant to tell me. Finally she told me that ever since she came back from Christmas vacation, she's been having dreams of being alone in a room with a shadowy cloaked figure with red, snakelike eyes, and how her recent dream also has a beastly creature in the room with her and the cloaked figure. I gave her a potion for dreamless sleep that night after she told me her predicament so that she wouldn't daze off in class again. Potter, you and I know very well that only one person could have red snakelike eyes."

"Voldemort," Harry said quietly. "Why would he be after her, though? What could he possibly want with her?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that with you, Potter," Draco said coolly. "If you want to know what Miss Kinomoto possesses that could possibly make the Dark Lord interested in her, ask Mr. Hiiragizawa; he's made it clear to us not to discern her secrets to anyone, not even Ministry officials. Good day, Potter."

He stood up to leave, and was about to descend the stairs when he paused. "Oh, and Potter? Kinomoto told me she did some fortune-telling. The Dark Lord is in disguise." Briefly, he glanced over his shoulder to see the color drain from Harry's face before leaving. Once Draco had disappeared from sight, Harry slammed his fist on the table and loudly cursed.

"In disguise? Bloody hell, that makes things even more difficult for us to track him down! He could be posing as anyone!" Harry yelled in frustration.

"Harry, our first priority is to protect that girl, make sure Voldemort can't get his hands on her," Hermione said. "We also need to speak to Professor Hiiragizawa about Sakura, and what Voldemort could possibly want with her."

Harry nodded. "I'll arrange a meeting with him, then."

* * *

Eventually, after much anticipation, the evening of the ball arrived. In the Hufflepuff dormitories, Sakura stood in front of a mirror, admiring the dress Tomoyo had wanted her to wear. Made of silk and white color with bluish tints, the dress featured a prominent sweetheart neckline with gold trim, thin transparent off the shoulder sleeves, and a cherry blossom corsage where the neckline came to a point. The skirt, which was high low, was of a trumpet silhouette, was fitted from her hips to her mid thigh, where it flared out lightly and elegantly. Where the dress flared out was also where the skirt stopped and gently sloped down, with the back of the skirt being floor-length and longer than the front of the skirt, revealing her slender legs. A thin gold chain wrapped around the dress beneath the bosom, with the extra lengths falling over the skirt portion in a tiered fashion, with little teardrop-shaped beads attached at one inch intervals along the loose chain. Glitter had been applied generously to the skirt so that when caught in the light, it would appear as if Sakura was sparkling.

Essentially, with the exception of the cherry blossom corsage in the center of the neckline and the transparent sleeves that rested loosely against her arm, the dress made her look like a Greek goddess. Around her neck was a pink ribbon to match the cherry blossom corsage, tied off into a small bow with trailing tails at the back. On her feet were a pair of metallic silver 3" platform ankle-strap heels with a jeweled brooch in the center of three overlapping straps. Her hair was in a beautiful yet complicated waterfall chignon that fell over her left shoulder, with various flowers and rhinestone bobby pins woven strategically into the hair from the roots to the ends.

"Wow, even Sakura can look great wearing such an outfit!" Kero praised, although his choice of words wasn't wise. Eyebrow twitching, Sakura whirled around as her eyes flashed dangerously.

"What was that?!" she demanded angrily. Kero laughed nervously.

"I-I mean, you look beautiful in that dress," he said, trying again. "You look absolutely dazzling, I bet that kid won't be able to keep his eyes off you, ahahahaha..."

Sakura folded her arms in front of her chest. "Do you really mean it?" she asked, closing one eye while continuing to scrutinize him with the other.

"Yes yes!" Kero said frantically, waving his tiny arms in the air in trying to please his Mistress. "Please forgive me for my impudence!"

Sakura gave a "hmph" and turned her head away...but only for two seconds. She turned back around to face him, all smiles.

"That's enough, Kero-chan! You can come with me to the ball if you want. Thanks to your little...welcome speech, everyone knows you exist. Just don't eat all the food!"

"Yeah yeah," Kero said offhandedly. "Yay, my master is the best!"

Sakura giggled yet again as she slung a light pink crossover purse over her body and made her way towards the Common Room to get out of the dormitories. "Let's go!"

* * *

Syaoran, wearing the suit that Tomoyo had given him for Christmas, sighed as he tried to comb his messy chestnut hair, but his hair refused to work with him. Finally, he gave up trying to tame his locks. He glanced over at Scorpius, who was wearing his black and white dress robe and fixing his cuffs. Although he often thought Tomoyo's designs were rather outlandish, especially for Sakura, he appreciated her designs for the suit, as he quietly thought that he looked more stylish than his fellow peers.

"You okay, Malfoy?" he asked.

Scorpius nodded. "Yep. Nice outfit, by the way. Where'd you get it?"

"A friend," Syaoran said offhandedly. "She made it herself and gave it to me as a Christmas present."

"Who?" Scorpius asked excitedly. "I must know! I want my future dress robes to at least look stylish!"

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "You sure you want a Muggle making a dress robe for you?"

A large, awkward silence filled the room and lingered. The look on Scorpius' face told Syaoran that he wasn't expecting the answer he had received. Finally, after a few seconds of opening and closing his mouth like a fish, Scorpius stammered,

"A-A Muggle made that?"

"Yes. She's been designing clothes, mainly for Sakura, since we were ten. Well, at least to my knowledge anyway, since I wasn't in Japan before that age. Anyway, I should get going." He pocketed a small jewelry box into one of his pants' pockets, his present to Sakura for her 16th birthday, before leaving the Common Room, leaving behind his shocked and gaping friend. When he arrived in the Great Hall, he was relieved to see that Sakura hadn't arrived yet. A quick look around told him that it had been bewitched to look like a beautiful spring night, with floating lanterns surrounding them instead of the usual candles and a fountain with scattered rose petals floating in its water in the center of the Hall. Fresh flowers were strategically placed throughout to add to the spring feeling. Where the staff table usually was, a small gazebo took its place, beautifully interwoven with more flowers and ribbons.

By now, more and more students were arriving with their dates. Scorpius and Rose entered together, Al arrived with Giselle Byrd, James with a dark red-haired 7th Year half-blood by the name Jessica Nesbitt, Lily came with Lorcan Scamander, one of Luna Lovegood's and her husband Rolf Scamander's twin sons who were in the same year as she was, and Hugo was with Junie, one of Sakura's roommates.

"Wow, you certainly look dashing," Rose complimented. She looked around. "Where's Sakura?"

"Probably still getting ready," Syaoran said as the up-and-rising wizarding band, Fiery Metamorphmagi, took their place to the left of the gazebo and began playing one of their hit songs, I Nearly Got Killed Trying to Ride a Dragon. The loud, fast beat of the song filled the Hall, erupting cheers from their fans. Damian and Regina arrived then, neither of them with dates, neither of them wanting one. Syaoran wondered what was taking Sakura so long, since the Hufflepuff dormitories was close by, but then he spotted her, shyly coming in after the two Slytherins. His eyes widened in shock, his mouth left hanging open and slightly agap.

"Bloody hell," Scorpius whispered, catching sight of a certain emerald-eyed girl. Rose followed his gaze and gasped as well.

"That dress is gorgeous!" she whispered. "I wonder who made it?"

"Probably the same Muggle friend Li told me about," Scorpius said, not believing his eyes. "He said her Muggle best friend had been designing clothes from scratch for her since they were 10."

Syaoran walked up to a slightly blushing Sakura, who shyly met his amber eyes. "Y-you look beautiful. Daidouji outdid herself with this one."

Sakura smiled softly. "Thank you. You look really nice as well."

"Happy 16th birthday, my beautiful cherry blossom." Holding his arm out to her, Syaoran asked, "Shall we?"

She linked her arm with his and gave him a smile with a look in her eyes that said "yes." Together, they made their way to the dance floor, where they could dance the night away. The professors, who were chaperoning the event, kicked out students who were displaying obscene behavior. Eriol had his eyes trained on Sakura and Syaoran, his two favorite people, the whole time, while also watching the Sun Guardian Keroberos keeping busy at the refreshment table once it flew out of Sakura's crossover purse. After 4 upbeat songs, the band went for a ballad. The atmosphere in the Great Hall changed as all the couples began to slow dance. Taking their position, Syaoran and Sakura began to dance elegantly across the dance floor, with Syaoran leading her. All she had to do was trust her Little Wolf.

"Come with me," he whispered into her ear, leading her out of the Great Hall. Sakura frowned and crinkled her eyebrows in confusion, but nodded and let him lead her out.

"Syaoran? Why are we going to the courtyard?" Sakura asked as they walked down the hallway past the classrooms, recognizing the path as one she always took to get out to the courtyard.

Syaoran smiled. "You'll see." He pressed the door handle and pushed it open, then stepped aside to let her through. Sakura thought his chivalrous action awkward, as she could have easily opened the door herself, but went through anyway.

What she saw when she crossed the threshold made her jaws drop and her eyes widen. Every single tree and bush was decorated with white and dim yellow glowing lights, and paper lanterns, most of them yellow, illuminated the night sky. But what was even more amazing was the large cherry blossom tree on the far side of the courtyard. Turning to face him, Sakura expressed her confusion.

"Where did that come from? I come out here a few times a week and I've never seen a cherry tree before."

"Ah, I uhh, asked Professor Longbottom to summon it here, whole tree and all," Syaoran coughed. "Since I told him I wanted to do something for your birthday, he was surprisingly willing. The tree isn't going to be here long though, it's just going to be here tonight, and then it'll be gone tomorrow. But you kind of spoiled the mood," he added jokingly.

Sakura smiled. "Who said I was spoiling the mood?" Spreading her arms out, she spun around and around, laughing merrily underneath the starry sky and the bright glow of the full moon. She was in absolute bliss and awe. How did her wonderful boyfriend pull this off without her noticing? When did he start? Running over to the cherry tree, she stood under it and looked up as the fragile petals of the cherry blossoms broke off and fluttered to the ground, creating a beautiful pink shower.

A tap on her shoulder caused her to turn around. Syaoran stood before her, bowing while holding his arm out to her.

"Would the lovely princess like to dance?" he asked softly.

Sakura smiled ruefully at him. "But I can't dance."

"It's okay, I can't dance either."

"I have two left feet. I'll surely step on one of your own feet.

"Then I'll make sure to move out of the way."

The two of them laughed, not believing that they had remembered their lines from the 6th grade summer play. Sakura gingerly placed her hand on top of Syaoran's wrist, and then he took her other hand and led her to the middle of the courtyard. Then, taking their positions, they began to dance, the two of them alone, underneath the starry night sky. Even though they were not in the Great Hall, they could still hear the music from within.

Meanwhile, inside the Great Hall, the rest of the attendees were either merrily dancing, seated at tables, or standing at the refreshments table to chat with close friends. Damian and Regina were nowhere to be seen, having left some time ago. Eriol noticed that Sakura and Syaoran still hadn't returned and chuckled, wondering what kind of surprise his descendant had left for his heiress. That thought vanished quickly, however, when he sensed that something was about to be amiss. And his instincts were right, for suddenly, the entire dance venue was thrown into pitch darkness, emitting screams from everyone. Someone had thrown in Instant Peruvian Darkness Powder, known for causing instant darkness.

"What's going on?" Lily yelled frantically. "Al, James, are you nearby?!"

Despite not being able to see, Eriol could still use his aura to sense the auras of his students and fellow staff members. Standing up, he announced loudly before Headmistress Sprout could even say anything, "EVERYONE LISTEN TO ME. STAY CALM. PANICKING WILL ONLY MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE. IN THE MEANTIME, USE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED ABOUT DETECTING AURAS TO FIND YOUR FRIENDS!"

He stopped speaking when he heard murmuring voices agreeing with what he had said.

"Good on ya for calming the students down," Professor Longbottom said.

Eriol smiled wryly in the darkness. "I have a feeling that our party is going to be crashed soon by uninvited guests." He reached into his pants pocket and took out a key in the shape of a sun. "Too bad our guests don't know that the darkness is my specialty."

"Eriol, what are you talking abo-" Draco began, but his eyes grew wide when he heard the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor begin chanting.

"Key that hides the power of the darkness. I, Eriol, command you under contract. Release!"

Visible in the darkness, Eriol's magic circle appeared and glowed brightly. At the same time, his key transformed and changed into a long sun staff that was longer than its owner. He made a small counterclockwise motion with his staff, making it glow red. The atmosphere began to lighten up as Eriol silently used a spell that would erase the darkness and bring light back. He didn't need to use the Hand of Glory. After all, if he could send all of Tomoeda into darkness for Sakura's final trial, he could also do the opposite and bring light back. After all, he was, and is, the reincarnation of Clow Reed.

Before long, the room was back to its lit state, and Eriol could see the students were safe and sound. However, he knew that danger was still eminent.

"Show yourself!" Neville shouted loudly, brandishing his wand.

At his command, the windows suddenly shattered and broke, raining shards of glass down on the students and teachers as a flurry of spells, red and green, burst through the broken windows. Screams filled the air as the older students and professors leapt into action, with the Prefects and Head Boys and Head Girls yelling for the younger students to get to safety. Eriol watched with an eerie calmness as various dark wizards Apparated into the Great Hall, which had been such a beautiful place just a few minutes ago. So, they had taken advantage of the school's short moment of weakness, did they? Through the windows came large werewolves, the leader being the largest as his bloodthirsty eyes looked for a victim to turn.

With a throaty and sinister chuckle, one of the dark wizards stepped forward and lowered his hood. "I'll make this quick and short. Where is the girl?" he demanded.

* * *

A/N: Sakura's dress design, minus the thin, transparent off-the-shoulder sleeves, is a cross between Giselle from Enchanted's curtain dress (the bodice part, minus the color), and Princess Sakura from Tsubasa Chronicles' dress from the dream world (the gold dangly part with the beads and the asymmetric high-low skirt portion).

Also, to a particular reviewer: Leon from the first few chapters is NEITHER from CLAMP or Harry Potter's world, since he is my own original character. Therefore, CLAMP's and Rowling's rule about how the dead can't be resurrected does NOT apply to him (besides, Kikyo from Inuyasha was dead, and she was resurrected with clay and a part of Kagome's soul by some whacko witch, and yes, I know Inuyasha is Rumiko Takahashi's work).


	21. Surrender

A/N: To all the new folks following this story, thanks for following this piece of crap, haha.

Mazamba: The Move Card can only move small objects for a short distance, and cannot move living creatures. Even though Sakura is said to be the most powerful sorceress in the world by Eriol in the manga, she still cannot change the Move's limited abilities. Even Clow Reed couldn't extend the Move's abilities himself, and he was the most powerful sorcerer in the world before Sakura.

And now, moving on to this chapter.

_Last time..._

_"Key that hides the power of the darkness. I, Eriol, command you under contract. Release!"_

_Visible in the darkness, Eriol's magic circle appeared and glowed brightly. At the same time, his key transformed and changed into a long sun staff that was longer than its owner. He made a small counterclockwise motion with his staff, making it glow red. The atmosphere began to lighten up as Eriol silently used a spell that would erase the darkness and bring light back. He didn't need to use the Hand of Glory. After all, if he could send all of Tomoeda into darkness for Sakura's final trial, he could also do the opposite and bring light back. After all, he was, and is, the reincarnation of Clow Reed._

_Before long, the room was back to its lit state, and Eriol could see the students were safe and sound. However, he knew that danger was still eminent._

_"Show yourself!" Neville shouted loudly, brandishing his wand._

_At his command, the windows suddenly shattered and broke, raining shards of glass down on the students and teachers as a flurry of spells, red and green, burst through the broken windows. Screams filled the air as the older students and professors leapt into action, with the Prefects and Head Boys and Head Girls yelling for the younger students to get to safety. Eriol watched with an eerie calmness as various dark wizards Apparated into the Great Hall, which had been such a beautiful place just a few minutes ago. So, they had taken advantage of the school's short moment of weakness, did they? Through the windows came large werewolves, the leader being the largest as his bloodthirsty eyes looked for a victim to turn._

_With a throaty and sinister chuckle, one of the dark wizards stepped forward and lowered his hood. "I'll make this quick and short. Where is the girl?" he demanded. _

Chapter 21: Surrender

No one answered the dark wizard; the teachers all had their wands pointed toward the attackers, while the students huddled in fear. They didn't understand why this happened-after all, wasn't Hogwart's walls supposed to be safe? The last time they knew of Hogwarts having an attack was back in 1998, during their parents' era. Tension ran high in the air as good and evil faced off against each other.

"I'll ask again," the same dark wizard from before spoke, his patience running thin. "WHERE IS THE GIRL?"

Meanwhile, outside in the courtyard, Sakura and Syaoran were still merrily dancing together, too wrapped up in their mirth to sense anything out of the ordinary. Sakura's dress twirled around her figure as she spun into Syaoran's arms before he turned her out again. When she turned in towards him again, this time, Syaoran grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up to spin her around before setting her down again. Their dance ended with them pressing one palm against the other while they held hands with the other free hand. Impulsively, Sakura leaned forward and tilted her head back as she captured Syaoran's lips in a quick kiss, then giggled as she drew away to observe his red face.

"Sakura!" he said, shocked.

"What, you didn't like it?" she pouted.

Syaoran shook her head. "I do, a lot. But my, I never knew you to be quite the bold type."

Sakura stuck her tongue playfully out at him. "I'm the cheerful, energetic Sakura Kinomoto you fell in love with, remember?"

Syaoran had to agree with her there-her bright, cheerful spirit and perseverance were the qualities she possessed that drew him to her. To her surprise, he wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her in close. Kissing the top of her head, he murmured,

"And I wouldn't want to change anything about you."

And in that moment as they held together close, they realized that something was wrong, finally sensing unfamiliar presences.

"The Great Hall!" they shouted together before dashing back in.

Back in the Great Hall, the tension thickened as the dark wizard repeated his question for the second time, expecting an answer. No one said anything for a while, but then Eriol spoke up.

"I'm terribly sorry, but there are many girls here," he said in jest as he made a sweeping gesture with one hand. "You're going to have to be more specific, good sir, but I do have to say, I doubt any of these girls would be interested in you." His mannerism towards the dark wizard was not only creepily calm, but over-the-top polite as well while mocking him. A few of the girls in the room couldn't help but giggle at their teacher's response, despite their fears running high.

"And who are you?" another dark wizard sneered.

Once again, Eriol was eerily calm in his response; the students couldn't believe how composed he was despite the danger they were in. "My name is Eriol Hiiragizawa, sorcerer current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." He took a deep breath. "Attacking the school was a bad idea, you know. I presume your leader told you to do this?" He shook his head and tsked. "That was a bad move on his or her part."

"H-how dare you! Whatever the dark lord wants, he gets!" the wizard roared. "Whatever he wants, I, Killian, will get for him! If you won't tell us, we'll just have to force her whereabouts out of you!" The wizard called Killian glanced around. "ATTACK!"

"My my, you're all action, aren't you?" Eriol murmured as the dark wizards suddenly began firing spells, which were countered by the professors flinging back spells of their own. The younger students ducked while their older peers joined in the battle. Flashes of red, blue, white, yellow, orange, and various other colors flew over the heads of those who ducked, while others hit their target. Professor Longbottom aimed a Leg Locker Curse at one of the dark wizards, causing him to topple over. Meanwhile, Eriol, who was surrounded by the werewolves, simply raised his sun staff, which glowed red from the magical energy he was transferring into it. With a simple flick, the werewolves were suddenly forced away from him. Catching the confused and astonished looks of those around him, Eriol smiled, reveling in his secret identity. Neville and Sprout faced off against three dark wizards and a werewolf, while Draco held his own against one. Prefects and Head Boys/Girls were busy trying to get the younger students out as safely as possible, while 6th and 7th Years joined along in the fighting.

"Stupefy!" Neville shouted at one of the dark wizards he was fighting, aiming a red jet of magic towards him. The red jet hit the wizard squarely on the chest, knocking him over and rendering him unable to fight for the moment.

Meanwhile, while the fighting was going on in the Great Hall, Sakura and Syaoran were making their way inside from the courtyard. As soon as they went in, they were greeted by Damian and Regina.

"I wouldn't advise going into the Great Hall if I were you," Damian warned with a little smirk. "It's a battlefield in there. You wouldn't want to-" but he was cut off when Sakura let out a loud, audible gasp and ran past him, intent on stopping whatever was going on in there before things got worse. Syaoran, however, glared at Damian. Without warning, he grabbed Damian's shirt collar and rammed him into the wall, hoisting him up a bit.

"You know something, don't you? DON'T YOU?" he roared. Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled off Damian and sent flying against the opposite wall. When he recovered from the shock and looked him, he saw Regina standing over him, aiming her wand against him angrily.

"How DARE you speak to him in such a manner!"

Syaoran grunted as he got up, withdrawing his wand in the process. It was a good thing that he had his wand in him in case of emergencies, and this was definitely an emergency. "I speak however I want," he snarled, glaring at Regina. "You both know something about this, don't you? I saw that little smirk when you were warning Sakura earlier, Roth."

"Clever boy," Damian sneered. "You see, that girl is who we're after."

"Wait...we're-?!" Syaoran asked in horror, noticing Damian's word choice. However, Damian simply raised a hand. Before Syaoran knew it, he was laying on the ground, choking and gasping as blood pooled around him. With a pained expression, he glanced up at Damian in shock. He didn't even see his fellow Slytherin withdraw his wand or even move his mouth! With sick realization, Syaoran realized that Damian had the ability to use wandless, nonverbal magic.

"That's right, little boy," Regina said softly before cackling.

"Who...are...you..." Syaoran demanded, trying hard to stay conscious despite his injuries. _Dammit, what spell did that bastard use on me anyway?!_ However, it wasn't working, as he could see dark spots forming in his vision. He wanted to release his sword and use it as support, or even impale it through Damian and Regina, but he knew that releasing his sword would take magic, and he was already extremely injured and unable to move. Plus, there was the chance that these two psychos could possibly stab him with his own sword should he pass out. However, Syaoran knew that he couldn't stay conscious any longer. The last thing he heard before he passed out from his wounds was Damian speaking in a soft voice while looking coldly at him,

"While every one of you fools know me as Damian Roth, in the past, I was called Lord Voldemort." He smirked at Syaoran's shocked expression before he passed out. With just a flick of his wrist, Damian raised the boy's unconscious body from the ground.

"Kinomoto will not refuse to come with us when she sees her precious love in such a state. Come!" Damian ordered as he walked towards the Great Hall, with Syaoran's body floating behind him and Regina eagerly following.

A horrified look crossed Sakura's face when she ran into the Great Hall and saw what was happening. Not only were there dark wizards and werewolves, but there were other creatures as well. She couldn't fathom it. When did it all begin? Why hadn't she sensed that something was amiss earlier? She screamed when a spell came her way, ducking to avoid it. Glancing around, she spotted Eriol holding his own against Killian.

"Where is the Cardmistress?! I know that every one of you teachers know about her whereabouts!"

A flicker of surprise appeared in Eriol's eyes, but that soon went away as he said quietly but deadly, "I will not tell you of her whereabouts."

Killian smirked. "So you DO know. Nevermind, I'll just torture it out of you. Cru-" He couldn't finish, because suddenly he felt something hitting the back of his head, causing him to slump to the floor in pain. Eriol smiled at Sakura, who had grabbed a nearby centerpiece and hit Killian over the head with it. She dropped the centerpiece in shock when she realized what she had done.

"I only meant to stun him, not kill him!" she wailed when she saw he wasn't moving.

"Sakura, I think that's the least of our worries," Eriol pointed out. "Besides, I don't think you actually killed him...where's your wand?"

Sakura grinned sheepishly. "I, ah, left it in my room."

"Well whatever you do, don't use your other magic unless absolutely necessary," Eriol warned. His voice dropped to a whisper. "These dark wizards are after you. If you reveal to them who you are, you'll be in big trouble."

Eyes widening at the revelation, Sakura's hands clasped over her mouth. "But...why?"

"That's what I'm wondering," Eriol answered as spells flew over their heads. "Anyway, go retrieve your wand. You should know better than to walk around with your wand."

Sakura nodded. "I understand." She turned and was about to run out of the Great Hall to go down to the Hufflepuff dormitories, but what she saw made her eyes widen in horror and a gasp escape her mouth. Seeing her freeze, Eriol was about to ask her what was wrong, but when he followed her gaze, his lips formed a tight line as his facial muscles tightened. Like a careless ragdoll, Damian gave a flick of his wand and tossed Syaoran's body into the middle of the hall amidst all the commotion. This simple act caused almost all activity in the Great Hall to cease. For a moment, it seemed as if time had stopped before it was quickly broken.

"Syaoran!" Sakura cried, running over to his wounded person. She pulled him up until his head was resting on her lap. Placing a delicate hand on his cheek, she cried, "Syaoran, pull yourself together!" Glancing angrily up at Damian, she demanded, "What did you do to him?!"

"S...Sakura..." Syaoran hoarsely whispered as he came to. Eyes widening, Sakura's attention shifted back to Syaoran, her bright green eyes meeting his amber ones.

"Syaoran? Are you okay? No, that's a silly question to ask. Of course you're not okay!" She took one of his hands in hers and held it against her own cheek as tears began to form. "How did this happen?"

"I...don't know..." Syaoran breathed, his eyes softening as he gazed up at her. "It happened all so fast...I'm...just...glad that you're alright." He coughed up some blood and groaned in pain. Bowing her head, her hair fell over her shoulders as she took Syaoran's hand and grasped it tightly in hers.

"So _you're_ the girl we've been looking for," a voice sneered. With a small gasp, Sakura lifted her face and nearly fell back when she saw that Killian, the man she had smashed over the head with a centerpiece earlier, was right there in front of her. Before she could react, he reached forward with his hand and tightly grabbed hold of her chin.

"When I heard that the Cardmistress was the most powerful sorceress in the world, I expected someone a bit...older. Nevertheless, you're a rather pretty lad."

"Don't you DARE touch her!" Syaoran snarled raspily.

Though she narrowed her eyes defiantly at Killian, Sakura's body trembled in fear. She pushed Killian away from her and backed away while still keeping a wary look on him. "Who are you," she asked cautiously, "And how did you find me? What do you all want with me."

"Ah, where are my manners?" Killian asked mockingly. "The name's Killian. I serve the dark lord. Perhaps you might even know him."

Sakura tilted her head in confusion. "What?" She didn't know any dark lords or dark wizards. The only one she knew about was Lord Voldemort, and that was just because she learned about him in History of Magic. Then sensing that someone had moved directly behind her, she turned her head and found her breath catching in her throat as she found herself looking up at Damian, who looked coldly down at her.

"Since I am merciful," Damian spoke, his tone cold and emotionless, "I will offer you a deal. Surrender yourself to me, and the boy lives. Refuse, and I kill him."

Sakura looked at him with disbelief. "Why are you doing this?!" she demanded.

"It's simple, little girl," Damian said. "Power. And revenge."

For a long time, Sakura stared at him, and he looked back at her with those cold eyes of his. For a while, neither of them spoke. Then,

"Who...are you?" she murmured softly.

"Me?" Damian's smirk grew wider. "In this lifetime, I am known as Damian Roth."

A loud, resounding crack was heard. Damian glanced over his shoulder as Sakura, Lily, Rose, Hugo, James, and Al widened their eyes at the new arrival. Narrowing his eyes at who had arrived, Damian continued, his eyes meeting that of a man with tousled black hair and a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead,

"But in my past life, I was formerly known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, or Lord Voldemort."

"So the rumors are true," Harry said quietly, though his tone was dripping with venom as he faced down a younger version of his archnemesis. "I see you have hair again."

"We meet again, Potter," Damian sneered.

"Leave the girl alone. If you want revenge, then this battle is between you and me," Harry said, his hand tightening around her wand.

"Oh, but you couldn't possibly know what the Dark Lord wants," Regina cackled.

"That mannerism...could it be...?" Ron whispered to Hermione.

"Bellatrix," Hermione nodded, narrowing her eyes at the dark witch.

"Ooh, clever girl," Regina said sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Sakura's head reeled as she tried to register what was happening. Syaoran was extremely hurt, and Damian and Regina were apparently dead dark wizards brought back to life. She didn't understand how-wasn't it impossible to bring the dead back? However, she pushed that thought to the back of her head; Syaoran was her priority right now. Kneeling back down beside him, she gently placed a hand on his cheek again and closed her eyes. Concentrating hard, she focused all her magic into conjuring the card she wanted. At this point, she no longer cared if anyone found out about her secret-Damian and Killian had already hinted at the fact that she was the Cardmistress to those within earshot-all she cared about was saving Syaoran. As if on cue, a pink card materialized in the air in front of Sakura, whose eyes were still closed.

"Heal," she murmured softly. "Please, mend Syaoran's wounds."

At her request, the card glowed brightly. Golden swirls of magical energy wrapped themselves around Syaoran's body as a magic circle appeared beneath him and Sakura. She could feel her magical energy slowly being zapped away from her, a consequence of using the Heal Card, but it was like using the Time Card; as long as she was strong magically, she didn't have to worry about fainting or feeling weak after using such a powerful card. She heard gasps all around from fellow classmates, but ignored them as she focused on the task at hand. All she cared about was healing the person she loved most.

"Sakura...!" Rose couldn't believe what she was seeing, and neither could the other students. All this time, the Master of the Clow Cards was here, at Hogwarts, with them! Never had it crossed their minds that the Master of the Clow Cards would be their age-they had thought that whoever the Master of the Clow Cards was, they would be a lot older!

"Kinomoto..." Ron murmured, also in awe. Hermione, meanwhile, was at a complete loss of words. All she could do was open and close her mouth like a fish.

"Everything will be alright," was what she said softly to herself, her own mantra that always enabled her to stay positive. As long as she believed in optimism, she knew that nothing could bring her down. She watched as slowly yet surely, Syaoran's wounds began to heal. When they had closed up and faded away, leaving not even a scar, the card stopped glowing and returned to Sakura's hidden pocket in her dress. The magic circle disappeared, and silence filled the room. For a while, no one said anything after witnessing what had just happened. Finally, Sakura broke the silence herself by letting out a relieved sigh, then leaning down and wrapping her arms around Syaoran's neck.

"It worked...thank goodness!" she exclaimed out loud, tears of happiness rolling down her cheeks.

"H-hey, easy!" Syaoran warned. "Isn't it too soon to hug someone who had been wounded?"

Sakura blinked a few times, then released her hold on him. "Sorry," she apologized, blushing.

"Besides," Syaoran added, his gaze shifting from her to Damian as his gaze darkened, "We still have company."

"No, you don't," Harry said, keeping his eyes on Damian, "We'll take care of this. You two just get out of here."

"Is that really so wise, Potter?" Damian asked, his tone mocking. "You know perfectly well that I will kill anyone to get what I want. I am not the same wizard you defeated, Potter."

"Oh yeah?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Could the old me do this?" Damian asked, holding up a hand. Suddenly, Lily let out a choking gasp and grasped at her throat as she fell to the ground.

"Lily! Leave my daughter alone!" Ginny demanded, rushing over to her daughter's side.

"Yes, Potter, I stole magic from a sorcerer...in fact, the very same sorcerer that brought me back to life," Damian said, his demeanor eerily calm despite the fact that he had just attempted to choke Lily. As soon as he released his magical hold on her, Lily took in a large gulp of air while her mother rubbed her back in soothing circles while fretting over whether her daughter was okay.

"Thought that everything was back to being all peaches and cream, did you, Potter?" Regina sneered.

Harry just narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"Please stop it!" Sakura burst out, causing all attention to be directed to her. She rose to her feet and lifted her head to meet Damian's eyes, willing herself not to waver. She couldn't waver, not now.

"Will you promise not to hurt anyone?"

"Sakura...what are you saying?!" Syaoran demanded, but Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and whispered, "Silent, please silence Syaoran." She didn't want to listen to him pleading, because then she knew she wouldn't be able to go through with what she was going to do. Syaoran seemed to realize this, as he couldn't hear his own voice as he attempted to yell out to her.

Opening her eyes again, Sakura repeated, her voice breaking as she seeked confirmation from Damian one more time. "If I surrender myself to you...if I go with you...will you promise not to hurt anyone?"

Damian smirked as he took a few steps forward to close the distance between the two of them. "I do not make silly promises...however, I will honor your request."

Sakura nodded as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She turned slowly to see Syaoran staring at her in horror, and felt her heart break. She lifted the Silent Card's spell on him, and rushed back to him and threw her arms around him.

"Idiot. You're such an idiot," Syaoran scolded, holding her tightly, not wanting to let go.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I couldn't think of anything else. I don't want anyone to die because of me. I wouldn't be able to stand it."

"Like I said...you're an idiot," Syaoran said as he kissed her forehead. "Sakura, these are dark wizards. This is Voldemort you're dealing with, even if he looks different now! And you're just going to hand yourself over to them?"

Sakura nodded and smiled gently at him. "Please don't worry, Syaoran. As long as I remain cheerful and believe in my invincible mantra, I'll be fine. I'll most definitely be alright."

Syaoran looked at her for a long time, but when he saw that Sakura was not going to change her mind, he nodded. "I'll never forgive them if anything happens to you."

"Syaoran," Sakura insisted, cupping his cheeks in her hands, "I promise you, I will be fine. I'll pinky swear you on it." She held her pinky out and waited for Syaoran to link his pinky with hers. When was the last thing they had done this? When they were 12? Syaoran reached out and linked pinkies with her, then Sakura began the pinky promise.

"Pinky promise pledge: If you're lying, I'll make you drink a thousand needles. Pinky promised!" She smiled softly yet sadly at him. "There, it's sealed."

"Alright, girly, your time is up. Let's go," Killian sneered, flicking his wand and forcing Sakura away from Syaoran, using a spell that pulled her over towards him. Automatically, Sakura reached out with her hand towards Syaoran and cried out for him as she felt herself being pulled away against her will.

"Syaoran!"

"Sakura!" he yelled back. He growled in anger as Killian wrapped one arm around her waist to keep her from escaping. Sakura attempted to struggle away from his grip, but he held fast. "GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF HER!" He roared as he released his sword and charged at Killian.

"How touching," Regina mocked before using a spell that made Syaoran suddenly fly backwards off his feet. "Just accept that your precious flower has admitted defeat." She looked at Killian. "Well? Get to it!"

Killian glared at her before he looked down at Sakura, who refused to look up at him as tears welled up in her eyes. Without a word passed between them, Killian Apparated out, taking Sakura with him. As soon as they left, Damian smiled cruelly at Syaoran.

"Your name means Little Wolf, doesn't it?"

"What are you playing at?!" Syaoran demanded, then realization dawned on him. "You bastard..."

"Ah, I see you've realized what I'm getting at. Like I said to that silly girl, I don't keep promises. I wonder, would little Sakura still love you if you became a monster?" He looked at the remaining dark wizards, as well as the werewolves (kept at bay by the teachers to prevent them from attacking anyone), that were still remaining.

"You may do as you like," he said coldly before Apparating away, followed by Regina.

"DAMN!" Syaoran shouted loudly at the top of his lungs, bringing his fist down to the ground and pounding on it. He glared up at the Aurors and snarled, "Why did you just stand by and do nothing?!"

"Li," Eriol said firmly, "Sakura had already made up her mind. You know perfectly well that whenever she's got her mind set on something, she's not going to change it. All we could do was honor her request. She didn't want any of us to be hurt because of her. You heard her say it herself."

"That doesn't mean we HAVE to go with it!" Syaoran snapped.

"Nevertheless, I think we have another issue here," Harry said, looking around at the Dark Wizards and dark creatures still in the Great Hall. "Let's take care of these first. Then we can go rescue Sakura Kinomoto."

"How? She's a foreigner, so she doesn't have the Trace on her. The Ministry doesn't have her or Mr. Li here on their records," Hermione pointed out. Hearing that, Syaoran's lips curled up into a smirk.

"Leave that to me."

"How?" Harry asked.

"One, I can track Sakura's aura. Hers is very distinguishable-pink, pure, and bright. Just like how she can recognize my aura, I can recognize hers. Another method is using the Lasin Board. Originally, it was supposed to help me find Clow Cards, but it can also detect Sakura Cards as well because they were created with the Clow Cards as a base. That's how we'll find her." Syaoran's hands balled into tight fists as he angrily shook at the thought of what those dark wizards, especially Voldemort, would do to her. He knew full well that he shouldn't take them lightly.

A/N: meh, I don't like this chapter, but it had been a while since I last updated and I wanted to get this moving along.


	22. A Caged Bird

Chapter 22: A Caged Bird

"Ah!" Sakura cried as Killian tossed her forward into a dark room with a small window that had bars on it, preventing anyone from trying to squeeze through and escape. Of course, since the window was ridiculously small, it would be impossible for anyone to even squeeze through. She then scrambled back up to her feet and ran at Killian, who gave her a smirk as he closed the door in her face. He could hear her banging repeatedly on the door from the other end and trying to open it, but to no avail. It seemed as if the door was locked from the outside.

"LET ME OUT!" she shouted.

"You are our prisoner now," Killian taunted. "I'm afraid you do not have such freedom anymore, princess."

Ears pressed against the door, Sakura gasped in horror. Slowly, she sank down to her hands and knees as tears began to form on her cheeks. That's right, she had chosen to go with them, these evil people, to protect the people she loved. But at what cost? She listened as Killian's footsteps faded away, then burst into tears.

Later, Sakura sat with her back on the wall on a bed that was pushed up against it. The mattress was low quality and looked worn and unclean. There was no blanket to go with it. Gazing down at her dress and noting dirt and scuff marks on it, she sighed. Tomoyo wouldn't like it if she found out that the dress was ruined. Of course, Sakura knew that if Tomoyo knew the situation she was in, she would worry about Sakura first and the dress second. Her hand reached up to her neck and fingered the outline of her star key hanging on a chain around her neck. She had put up a front for Syaoran, telling him that she would be alright, but she wasn't sure about that. What would these dark wizards do to her? What would Voldemort do? She had read about how he killed even the most powerful and skilled wizards in cold blood, and shuddered to think about how that could be her fate.

* * *

"Bring her to me," Voldemort ordered, standing in a large, spacious room with a lit fireplace that provided a little bit of light to what was an otherwise dark room.

"Yes, my lord," Amycus said as he bowed before going to fetch their new captive. Unlocking and opening the door with a simple flick of the wand, he stepped into Sakura's cell and found her staring forlornly out the small window, her elbows propped up on the window ledge as she rested the palms of her hands on her cheeks. At the sound of the door being opened, Sakura snapped out of her daze and immediately turned to face Amycus.

"Come with me," he ordered harshly. From the tone in his voice, Sakura knew better than to ask questions. Hesitantly, she walked out of the dark room, then followed Amycus down a long hallway until they came to two double doors at the end. With a flick of his wand, Amycus forced the doors open.

_Geez, don't these wizards know how to enter rooms without using magic?_ Sakura thought as she entered. The first thing she noticed about this room was that it was much, much bigger than the one she had been forced into earlier, with a fireplace and fancy-looking furniture. However, despite how homely the room looked, Sakura still felt as if something wasn't right. She rubbed her arm nervously, wondering why Amycus had brought her here. It didn't take her very long to get her answer.

"Was there any resistance?" a high, cold voice asked.

"No, my lord," came Amycus' voice from behind Sakura.

"Very well. You may leave us."

"Yes, my lord." Amycus bowed, then backed out of the room. In that instant, Sakura spun on her heels and also tried to leave with Amycus, but before she could, the door suddenly slammed shut on her face. With great dismay, she grabbed the door handle and tried to open it, but to no avail.

"Trying to leave already, Sakura?" Voldemort asked coldly.

Sakura froze. Slowly, she turned around and found herself staring face to face with Damian, no, Voldemort.

"Sit," he ordered, gesturing to a cushioned stool.

With a shake of her head, Sakura politely declined the offer. "I'd rather stand, thanks."

"You dare defy Lord Voldemort?" his voice rose impatiently as he regarded the girl before him with contempt. "I order you to sit. Unless, perhaps, you would like a little pain?"

With a quick shake of her head, Sakura mumbled, "No." Hastily, she went and sat down on the stool Voldemort had indicated to her to sit on, smoothing out her dress as she did so.

"Do you know, Sakura, why I have called for you?" he asked as he began to circle around her. Sakura kept her gaze forward, trying her best not to follow his movements. However, the way he circled slowly around her, like a predator checking out its prey, unnerved her.

"You want the cards, right?" she asked. She then turned her head to face him. "Well you can't have them," she stated defiantly. "They're mine, I'm their rightful owner."

"Oh, I don't want the cards," Voldemort sneered as he held his wand under her chin, the tip poking into her neck. "While they are indeed powerful, they provide no use to me. After all, they can only be wielded by sorcerers such as yourself, yes?"

"Then what _are_ you interested in?" Sakura asked.

"Simple, my dear. You."

"Me?" Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. "Why me?"

"Hard to believe you are the Master of the Clow Cards," Voldemort remarked coldly. "I am interested in you, girl, because you possess great magic. With your magic, I can sustain myself."

"W-what do you mean?" Sakura asked, not liking what Voldemort was getting at.

"You remember that night in the Forbidden Forest, when you witnessed my killing of a wizard, yes?" Voldemort asked.

Sakura slowly nodded.

"Originally, Bellatrix and I were supposed to die when he died. However, I defied that by taking his powers into my own body immediately I killed him. Therefore, his magic still runs in me. However, it seems like that magic isn't...sustainable. It is not mine. It is also weak. I need a stronger source of magic to keep myself alive. I will not return to limbo," Voldemort said bitterly.

"And...that's why you need me..." Sakura said slowly as she came to the realization. "You're...you're going to kill me, aren't you?"

Voldemort smiled cruelly at her. "Smart girl."

Shaking her head, Sakura leapt off the stool and began backing away as quickly from Voldemort as possible. "No...no no no no!" she muttered over and over again in panic.

"Yesss," Voldemort hissed. "By taking your magic, I will become the most powerful wizard again! I will be able to do great things that you can not even imagine of doing!" He raised his wand at her. "Avada kedavra!" he said without remorse in his voice. Sakura widened her eyes and immediately threw herself to the ground, narrowing missing the green sparks that flew over her head. She thanked herself for having great reflexes. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that the impact of the Killing Curse had blasted the door open. She knew then that she had very little time to escape. Scrambling to her feet, she tried to run past the threshold, but to her dismay, found herself frozen, unable to move. Sakura knew that it was Voldemort's doing, and that he was not going to let her escape. She tried struggling against the spell that kept her in one spot as he tauntingly came closer to her, wanting to see her face up close as he killed her, see all the emotions reflected in her bright emerald eyes. However, it was no use, and Sakura soon sank to her knees, her head bowed and her dress splayed out around her.

"Such a pity," Voldemort said coldly as he forced her back on her feet with a nonverbal spell. "I shall enjoy watching the light disappearing from your eyes, Miss Kinomoto, as you die in front of me." He pointed his wand yet again at her and shouted, "AVAD-", but before he could finish, a magic circle appeared underneath Sakura's feet. The next thing she knew, time had stopped, and Voldemort was powerless against the forces of Time.

_Go, mistress. Run,_ she heard the cards urge her in her mind. Sakura nodded in response to the cards' warning and ran out of the room. As soon as she ran out of the room, time unfroze, and Voldemort was angered when he saw that his victim had escaped. Without a moment's hesitation, he ordered via the Dark Mark for his Death Eaters to report to him.

"Find the girl," he commanded coldly. "She couldn't have gone far."

* * *

"Stupefy!" Syaoran shouted, aiming his wand at the dark wizards and creatures. To his horror, not only were there werewolves, but it seemed as if Inferi had somehow made their way in. "Great, now we have to deal with zombies?!"

"Li, you know PERFECTLY well that these are Inferi, not zombies!" Scorpius shouted as he casted a fire spell at them.

"SAME DAMN THING!" Syaoran snapped. "THEY'RE BOTH DEAD PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN REANIMATED!" He raised his sword and pressed two fingers up against the flat part of the blade. "Kashin shourai!" His arm straightened out in front of him. A stream of bright orange flames shot out from his two fingers towards the Inferi, whipping against them like a rope. He nearly fell over when he saw Eriol conjure up a large teddy bear with funny looking eyes that grabbed the werewolves and smashed them into the ground without a care in the world.

"Li, look out!" Al shouted, noticing a werewolf coming up behind Syaoran, but it was too late. Syaoran felt himself being knocked down and a paw stepping on his back. He gave out a yell and tried to get away, but the werewolf had him trapped. Quickly, the werewolf bent down and sank his teeth into Syaoran's neck, causing him to scream out in anguished pain. Suddenly, he felt the weight being removed from his back and turned to see a large, familiar golden winged lion growling viciously at the werewolf.

"You alright, kid?" Keroberos asked.

Syaoran nodded as he got to his feet. "Yeah."

"Where's Sakura?"

"...They took her."

Keroberos turned a surprised look on him. "They what?! AND YOU DIDN'T PROTECT HER?!"

"SHE CHOSE to go with them, you oversized stuffed animal!" Syaoran snapped, annoyed by the Sun Guardian. "I couldn't stop her even if I wanted to!"

"Who the hell are you calling a stuffed animal, brat?!" Keroberos snapped. "I'm a super cool looking beast!"

"A GLUTTONOUS beast," Syaoran corrected. "Where were YOU when we were being attacked?"

Keroberos laughed nervously. To be fair, he had taken a detour to the kitchen, as well as ended up napping from the food coma.

"Li-kun, Keroberos, now is not the time for your bickering," Eriol said authoritatively. "Li, you need to have that wound on your neck taken care of right away."

Realization sank into Syaoran as it registered into his head that he had been bitten by a werewolf. That meant he was now inflicted and doomed to become a werewolf. No matter how he looked at it, it was not good.

"While I cannot stop you from turning into a werewolf, now that you have been bitten," Eriol said, "I can make it so that you keep your mind when you turn."

"How?" Hermione asked. "I thought wolfsbane is the only thing that can enable werewolves to keep their human mind."

"That is true, Hermione," Eriol said. "But this goes beyond that. I'm going to make it so that he keeps his mind, so long as he can sense or recognize Sakura's presence. She's his soulmate. He wouldn't dare hurt the one he loves most."

Syaoran nodded at Eriol's condition. "As long as I don't hurt her when I see her again." He then grimaced, feeling the transformation rapidly taking place. "AAARRGH!" He hadn't expected the transformation to occur so soon. Eriol immediately sprang into action and raised his staff. It glowed bright red and enveloped Syaoran's form as the transformation took place. Soon, in place of Syaoran was a medium-sized, chocolate brown werewolf. He raised his head to the ceiling and howled in anguish.

"Oh, Li," Rose whispered. Her eyes then widened when he suddenly turned to face them, a hungry look in his eyes, the feral need to infect others. "This isn't good!"

* * *

Sakura couldn't believe how big the place where Voldemort and his Death Eaters took her captive was. No matter how much she ran, she encountered more hallways and doorways. In fact, sometimes she didn't know if she had already gone down a particular hallway or not! Suddenly, she saw black smoke appearing in front of her and materialize into various dark wizards. With a frightened scream, she turned on her heels and ran back the way she came. Spells of various sorts shot past her, and Sakura hoped that none of those were the Killing Spell.

"Shield!" she shouted, activating the Shield Card to protect her. "Protect me!" A large red bubble enclosed around her, protecting her as spells ricocheted off its protective barrier. "Maze, Illusion, Loop, confuse them!" First, the Illusion changed the surroundings, making the surroundings look surreal. Next, Maze formed a labyrinth, with Sakura outside and her pursuers/attackers in the middle of it all. Finally, she had Loop to close off a section, so that if they did make it out of the maze, they would be unable to cross Loop's sectioned off path unless they knew where the line was and severed it. Facing the maze, a mischievous grin adorned her face as she shouted,

"Good luck getting out of Maze! Just a little food for thought-Maze's walls grow, so don't think about trying to climb or fly over. Maze can also regenerate her walls, so don't try blasting the walls either. Oh, and Maze will see it fit to change the layout if you are close to getting out. Also, you can't apparate out either. Maze won't let you leave unless you figure out the pathway out."

She then turned around and walked away, glad that she had thrown them off her track. She had bought herself some time.

"That little bitch!" Bellatrix snarled, hearing every word that Sakura had yelled at them.

"She may appear weak, but she is clever," Killian mused before looking at the green walls that surrounded them on all sides. "Now...how do we get out of here?"

* * *

_"_Li, stop, it's us!" Al shouted as Syaoran growled and slashed angrily at his friends to no avail, forced to use Stupefy on the newly-turned werewolf.

"Al, we've been over this before," Harry pointed out. "Unless they've had Wolfsbane Potion, when they're a werewolf, they lose all sense of their humanity!"

"And Sakura isn't here," Eriol pointed out, "So my spell on him doesn't work right now."

"So what CAN we do?!" Hermione shouted. "We don't want to hurt her boyfriend!"

Eriol looked calmly at Syaoran. "Guess I'll just have to block out the full moon."

Ron, Neville, and Harry looked at Eriol incredulously. "You can do that?" they asked all at once.

"Yep," Eriol said, looking happy with himself. "I did it once when I needed Sakura to pass one of my tests. Basically threw an entire town into darkness to get her to change the Light and Dark Cards."

"Well then, why didn't you say so earlier?!" Keroberos shouted.

Eriol shrugged. "It slipped my mind." He raised his staff and gave it a little wave as he cast a darkness spell. The others watched, mesmerized, as his spell caused a dark shroud to envelope the moon, blocking it out completely. As soon as the moon disappeared from sight, the werewolves began to revert back to their human forms with a shocked expression on their faces. Once he was human again, Syaoran looked down at his hands and flexed his fingers in fascination, then glared at Eriol.

"Took you long enough, you silly excuse for a Clow Reed reincarnate! We lost precious time!"

"I managed to get you to change back, didn't I?" Eriol pointed out. "Anyway, it's getting late. We can start rescuing her bright and early tomorrow morning. If we're going to get her back, we need to make sure we're at our best."

"Me? Sleep? No thanks," Syaoran snapped. "I'm going to go find her tonight. I don't need sleep!" He then ran out. There was only one thought on his mind: _Hang on, Sakura, I'm coming!_

* * *

She couldn't run anymore. Her body was tiring out, and it was getting late. Sakura threw open one last door and slipped inside, slamming the door shut behind her before dropping to the floor and sighing. Her eyes then widened slightly as she came to the realization that she was back to where she had started-the same room where Voldemort had tried to kill her!

"Ah, Sakura, how nice of you to come crawling back to me," Voldemort said in his high, cold voice, staring at the girl before him. With a flick of his wand, he made the door disappear so that she couldn't escape again. Sakura's face paled in dismay as she saw the door disappear before her eyes.

"No..." she whispered, running a hand over the wall where the door used to be.

"Escape is not an option this time, cherry blossom," Voldemort said as he casted another spell. This time, a long, fiery rope protruded from the end of his wand. He hurled it at the frightened girl, who tried to run away, but it wrapped quickly around her body and pulled her backwards towards the dark lord.

_Watery! _Sakura thought frantically. Within her pocket, a card glowed. A second later, the Watery spirit appeared and encircled herself around Sakura, dousing the flaming rope that bound her.

"Thank you!" Sakura thanked as the spirit returned to her card form.

"Why bother fighting?" Voldemort asked softly. "Everything would be much easier if you would just accept death."

"Because I still have so much to live for," Sakura answered back firmly. "I'm not going to let myself be defeated by you. Why do you want me dead so much, anyway? I'm only 16. I'm not smart, I'm clumsy, I'm always late for school, and I'm not powerful!"

"Don't kid yourself, little girl," Voldemort said harshly as he transfigured the ends of his robe into long, black tendrils that shot out and wrapped around Sakura's body at an alarming rate, pulling her to him. Sakura immediately struggled, but it was no use; the more she struggled, the tighter they wrapped around her. Eventually, she gave up on struggling, her body going limp as the cloth tendrils left her hovering about a meter off the ground.

"It's quite a pity," he continued, "that your precious person can't save you this time around."

Sakura widened her eyes. "What did you do to him? I begged you not to let anything happen to him or any of my friends!"

"I did _nothing_," Voldemort sneered as he reached out with one hand and caressed her face. Sakura flinched away as his hand made contact with her soft skin. "However, I would not be surprised if the mangy werewolves have. It would truly be befitting to the boy, yes? Doesn't his name mean "little wolf" in Chinese?"

Sakura said nothing as his words sank in. She was sure Syaoran would not let the werewolves or any of the dark wizards remaining in the Great Hall at Hogwarts win, but what if something happened? What if he had gotten bitten?

"Tell me, Sakura," Voldemort asked, "Why I cannot return to my original body?"

"I don't know," Sakura retorted, "Why don't you ask the one who resurrected you? Oh wait, you killed him, didn't you?"

"You dare speak like that to me?" Voldemort whispered dangerously.

Sakura met his glare with her own. "Yes, I dare," she answered. "I'm not afraid of you! I won't let you win. Even if I escape, even if you continue to pursue me, no matter what, I will never, ever stop trying to get away from you, to stay alive for the sake of my friends and family, for the sake of the people I love. Now let me go!" She immediately began struggling harder, but a cry of pain escaped from her mouth as the tendrils squeezed tightly around her, leaving red marks on her skin.

"Stop struggling," Voldemort said softly as he stared emotionlessly at the struggling girl in front of him, "And your death will not be as painful." He smiled in satisfaction as Sakura's body wearily gave up, going limp. "Good girl," he praised as if she were a pet.

Sakura looked wearily at him. "Please don't kill me," she begged again.

"Ah, but I must," he said softly. "To make myself stronger, to reclaim my presence in the wizarding world. I want the entire wizarding community to fear speaking my name again. I can see that I'm already instilling fear in you, my dear cherry blossom. I can see it in your tired, weary eyes."

As he spoke, Sakura couldn't help but slip in and out of sleep; her body was tired and wanted to rest, but Sakura tried to fight the urge to fall asleep, as she didn't want to be killed in her sleep. She didn't want to go to sleep and never wake up again. She also knew that he was right about her being afraid of him. She wanted to rewind time, to forget this ever happened, but she was not in a state to use the cards right now, and she still wasn't powerful enough to use the Return without using a medium yet.

"Then...let...give...powers...live..." she murmured, her speech coming out in one word fragments as sleep overcame her. Before she knew it, her eyelids closed and her world went black. The tendrils unwrapped from her body as Voldemort's robes returned to normal. He calmly caught her as she fell forward, her bangs brushing against her eyebrows and closed eyes, the short layers of her hair framing her delicate face as she slept with a troubled expression.

"Don't kill...please..." she murmured in her sleep.

"I am not so much as dishonorable as to kill someone in their sleep," he said, glancing down at her. "I shall let you live for one more day, Sakura."

Flicking his wand, Voldemort made the door reappear. As soon as he did, the door flew open, and in walked the group of Death Eaters and Killian that he had sent to hunt down Sakura. Bellatrix at the forefront.

"My lord, the girl-"

"Is right here," Voldemort said coldly, indicating to the auburn-haired teen that he was holding onto with one arm wrapped around her waist. "Fortunately for you fools, she unknowingly came running back to this same location."

"Forgive us, my lord," Killian said, bowing deeply.

"You couldn't even handle a little girl," Voldemort hissed. "I shall see to it that all of you are punished accordingly."

The Death Eaters' and Killian's faces paled; punishment by Voldemort almost always involved the Cruciatus Curse. Bellatrix looked reproachfully at Sakura's still body.

"Is the little wench dead?"

"No," Voldemort answered, to everyone's shock. "I shall let her live for another day."

"May I ask why, my lord?" Killian asked.

"Something she tried to say before she fell asleep...intriqued me," Voldemort answered. He then roughly pushed Sakura towards Dolohov, who caught her easily. "Take our hostage here back to her cell. You and Sewlyn shall stand watch over her cell. Take her to me when she awakens in the morning."

"Yes, my lord."


	23. You are Mine

Chapter 23: You are Mine

Syaoran frowned as he stood over a clifftop, with the light from his Raishinban shooting straight out in front of him. He was tired from not sleeping the entire night, but he didn't let that deter him. He would find Sakura no matter what, and the Raishinban was going to help him. Around him, the pitter-patter sound of raindrops clashed against rocks, trees, and the ground. For such a nice day yesterday, it sure was gloomy today. Hearing rustling behind him, Syaoran spun around, swiftly taking out his wand as he did so.

"Whoa there, it's only us," Hermione said, holding both hands up as she, Ron, and Harry came out, the hoods on their cloaks up to protect them from the rain. From the way Harry's glasses didn't have any rain drops splashed on them, Syaoran guessed that he must have cast a water repellent spell on them.

Syaoran nodded as he turned back around. "What are you doing here?"

"It's our fault Sakura got involved in this mess," Harry said. "Anyway, we've arrested the dark wizards that were involved in last night's battle, but there are still some missing, and we suspect they may be with Voldemort."

"And I'm going to kill that bastard," Syaoran snarled.

"Let's not get too hasty, Mr. Li," Harry said quickly. "Do you even know where she is?"

Syaoran smirked. "See this blue light that's pointing off that way? It's pointing towards Sakura and the cards." He was about to jump down the cliff when Ron grabbed hold of the back of his shirt.

"Whoa there, Mr. Li," Ron said warningly. "Don't you think you would reach her faster if you flew?"

"But I don't—" Syaoran began, then widened his eyes when Hermione pulled out a long broom from her bag and tossed it to him. Immediately, Syaoran understood that she had used a shrinking spell on the contents inside the bag.

"Thank you," he said.

"Don't mention it. Go find her," Hermione said with a smile. "We'll catch up with you."

Syaoran nodded as he mounted the broom and flew off in the direction that the Rainshinban guided him in.

* * *

Sakura softly moaned as she stirred, her mind slipping from the dream state into reality. Groggily, she opened her eyes halfway and sat up. With a yawn, she stretched and then rubbed her weary eyes before taking a look around. Gray walls surrounded her, with a tiny window carved into one of them. Sakura realized immediately that she was back in the dreary cell Killian had thrown her into the night before, but she wasn't focused on that. What she was focused on was the fact that she was still alive.

_But…didn't I fall asleep in Voldemort-sama's arms last night?_ she thought, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. It had been the perfect situation—her being asleep and virtually defenseless, in such close proximity to the dark lord. Slowly, she got off the bed and glanced out the small window to see that it was raining outside. A sigh escaped her lips as she backed away from the window and sat back down on the bed. If Voldemort didn't kill her the night before, he would surely kill her today. At that moment, she heard the doorknob jiggle, followed by the creak of the door itself as it opened. Slowly turning her head sideways, her eyes widened when she saw Voldemort standing there. Immediately, she rose to her feet and gave a small head bow in greeting, then clasped her hands together nervously. She stared at the ground uneasily as she watched Voldemort's bare feet walking towards her. The uneasiness factor went up when he once again began to circle her.

"Look at me," Voldemort ordered in his high cold voice.

Sakura took a deep breath, then raised her head to look at him. However, she nearly fell over backwards when she saw how close he was to her.

"Hoeeee!" she cried.

"Yes, Hufflepuff House certainly suited you well," Voldemort muttered. "You're like a frightened little rabbit."

Sakura laughed nervously. "Ehehehe…" Her laughter died down when Voldemort reached out and alternated between running the back of his hand and the palm of his hand against her cheek, as if caressing her. Sakura flinched at the unwelcomed touch and tried to move back, but Voldemort grabbed hold of her chin to prevent her from moving away.

"Do you remember what you were trying to tell me last night, before you passed out?" he asked.

Sakura tilted her head to the side, confused. What was Voldemort trying to get at? "Hoe?"

"Do not test my patience, girl!" Voldemort shouted coldly, causing her to wince.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean!" Sakura cried.

"So you don't remember," Voldemort said softly, studying the young Japanese girl before him, who was now looking warily back at him. Sakura shook her head again. "Then perhaps this will jog your memory. You said something about giving your powers to me?"

Sakura frowned as she closed her eyes, trying to think back to the night before. She remembered choosing to go with Voldemort, remembered almost getting killed by him, and remembered how she had involuntarily fell asleep. She remembered begging for her life…

Begging…

Her eyes snapped open as her incoherent jumbles came flooding back to her memory. Since she had said it when she was half-asleep, she almost didn't remember it. Seeing the look of realization dawn on her face, Voldemort's lips curled up into a cold smile.

"That's it," he said softly. "Tell me what you remember, Sakura." Inside, Voldemort was filled with glee—getting this girl to cooperate was just too easy. Sakura slowly nodded.

"You were about to kill me," Sakura said softly as she remembered the events from last night. "And I was dead tired, but I didn't want to fall asleep in case you were going to kill me. And I begged for you not to kill me…and I was trying to tell you that I could transfer some of my magic to you…and you would live without me having to die." She met Voldemort's gaze with resolve. "But, I haven't done such a thing since I was 11, and the last time I did it, I had Eriol-kun's help, and I was transferring some of his magic to my dad."

"Well do it again!" Voldemort snapped.

"But I—" Sakura protested.

"Just do it!" Voldemort shouted angrily. "If there are consequences, I shall live with it, so long as I can remain alive! I have been given a second chance at life and I intend to stay alive."

Sakura gasped as her eyes glazed over. Voldemort had his wand aimed at her forehead, the tip softly glowing as the Imperius spell was casted over the young Cardmistress. Dazed, she reached for her key and held it out in front of her.

"Key that hides the power of the stars, reveal your true form before me. I, Sakura, command you under contract. Release."

In a matter of seconds, her key had transformed into her staff. Gripping her staff close to her, Sakura continued chanting,

"The magic that was sealed into one, transfer a bit into another soul, and let it reside in the new body. By the powers of the sun, moon, and stars, this I command it."

Sakura's body levitated off the ground until she was 5 ft in the air, her body now parallel to the floor and slightly arched as she hovered above her magic circle that was radiating with a strong amount of magical energy. A gasp escaped her lips as a tiny golden bead of magical energy came out from Sakura's body and went straight into Voldemort's. He welcomed the new, revitalizing sensation that he got from Sakura transferring a bit of her magic to him. It felt different, more powerful than how Leon's had felt! The spell completed, Sakura's body suddenly dropped to the floor as the Imperio Curse was lifted off her and she became undazed. However, the magic transfer had taken up a considerable amount of her energy, and she sat on the ground, panting hard as she glanced up at the ceiling.

"You did well, Kinomoto," Voldemort said softly as he looked down at her. "Let us see how long your magic lasts in me, hmm?" His eyes then widened as he felt a searing pain in his heart and stumbled backwards. _What is this that I'm feeling? _

Though it was small and almost barely noticeable, he could feel a sense of warmth radiating inside him, running through his veins. It was such a foreign feeling to him, this warmth. He had never felt this before, not even when he was a little toddler. What was this feeling? He looked at Sakura again incredulously. What had she done to him? Suddenly, there was a loud bang, followed by angry yells of "how did he find this place?!" and "get him!"

Voldemort was about to lose his temper over his followers' incompetency, but a cruel smile appeared on his face when he saw a familiar brown-haired boy cross the threshold, knowing that he must have followed Sakura's aura.

"Well well well, if it isn't Syaoran Li," he said in a mocking tone. Hearing Syaoran's name, Sakura turned her head sideways and widened her eyes when she saw that he was, indeed, right there in front of her, alive and well. He stared back at her with wide eyes. Even though her dress was no longer pristine white, Sakura still looked as beautiful as ever.

"Syaoran!" she cried out in disbelief as she rose to her feet, although unsteadily.

"Sakura!" Syaoran began as he took a step towards her, but with a flick of his wand, Voldemort sent up a barrier that prevented him from getting to her.

"I don't think so, boy," he sneered.

"You bastard. Let Sakura go!" he snarled.

"She belongs to me now, Li," Voldemort said coldly. "She voluntarily gave herself up to me. Yes, she will be a useful asset to me."

"Don't speak about Sakura as if she's a property!" Syaoran snapped. "She is NOT yours! I won't let you have her!"

Voldemort smirked. "Is that so? She already gave some of her magic to me. Her power runs in my blood now." Then in an unexpected turn of events, he placed a hand on the small of Sakura's back and pulled her in close. With his other hand, he maintained a tight hold of Sakura's chin to prevent her from jerking her head away, then swiftly leaned in and captured her lips in his, catching Sakura by surprise and causing Syaoran to see several different shades of red. Voldemort smirked as he saw Syaoran's face redden in anger—the reaction was just what he wanted. She tried to squirm away, but Voldemort had her immobilized. Closing her eyes, she let a few tears fall as he pulled away. As soon as he let go of her, Sakura raised a hand and slapped him, hard, across the face. Her eyes then widened as she stared at her own hand and the handprint on Voldemort's face. The look of quiet fury on his face from the slap scared her.

"You dare slap me?" he asked coldly as he raised his wand at her. "CRUCIO!"

Syaoran felt like his heart was ripping into two as Sakura screamed and crumpled to the ground, her body writhing as she felt immeasurable pain. He had heard about the Cruciatus Curse and how it was a favorite torture device among dark wizards. He had hoped Sakura would never have to endure it, and yet here she was, being subjected to the cruel curse at the hands of a cruel dark lord.

"You bastard," Syaoran snarled. "Stop it, you're hurting her!"

"Ah yes, you can't bear to see her suffer, can you?" Voldemort sneered. Beside him, Sakura continued to scream and thrash about, but eventually, her screams died down into soft moans and groans. "I'll tell you what, Li. If you can win in a duel against me, you can have the wench back. Lose, and you will never see her again."

Syaoran growled as he clenched his fist. He didn't want Sakura to be treated as some kind of trophy. She was more than that—she was a human being, not an object! From the floor, Sakura moaned as Voldemort lifted the Cruciatus Curse off her, pushing herself up against the mattress.

"Syaoran…"

"What will it be?" Voldemort asked.

Syaoran narrowed his eyes fiercely. "I'll win that duel, Voldemort."

And Voldemort smiled, his gaze on Syaoran's just as cold as the tension in the room rose to unreachable heights, transcending past even the walls and ceiling. While a mellow green before, Syaoran's aura darkened and intensified to show his anger.

* * *

A/N: And insert cutscene that you see at the end of every single Korean drama. In this one, there are 3 panels: Syaoran on the right panel glaring angrily at Voldemort, Voldemort in the left panel looking coldly back at Syaoran, and Sakura looking exhausted and in pain from the Cruciatus Curse and from the forced magic transfer.

Voldemort is still, essentially, in his 17 year old body (17 because his birthday was on December 31st), so while his soul is old by now, his physical self isn't. (just like how while Eriol appears her age, if he hadn't slowed down the aging process immensely, he would be her father's age). But poor Sakura, suddenly having him do that to her. :( In the next chapter, we will see our own little wolf fight off against Voldemort. Who will be victorious?


	24. The Fight

_Last time…_

_"CRUCIO!"_

_Syaoran felt like his heart was ripping into two as Sakura screamed and crumpled to the ground, her body writhing as she felt immeasurable pain. He had heard about the Cruciatus Curse and how it was a favorite torture device among dark wizards. He had hoped Sakura would never have to endure it, and yet here she was, being subjected to the cruel curse at the hands of a cruel dark lord._

_"You bastard," Syaoran snarled. "Stop it, you're hurting her!"_

_"Ah yes, you can't bear to see her suffer, can you?" Voldemort sneered. Beside him, Sakura continued to scream and thrash about, but eventually, her screams died down into soft moans and groans. "I'll tell you what, Li. If you can win in a duel against me, you can have the wench back. Lose, and you will never see her again."_

_Syaoran growled as he clenched his fist. He didn't want Sakura to be treated as some kind of trophy. She was more than that—she was a human being, not an object! From the floor, Sakura moaned as Voldemort lifted the Cruciatus Curse off her, pushing herself up against the mattress._

_"Syaoran…"_

_"What will it be?" Voldemort asked._

_Syaoran narrowed his eyes fiercely. "I'll win that duel, Voldemort."_

_And Voldemort smiled, his gaze on Syaoran's just as cold as the tension in the room rose to unreachable heights, transcending past even the walls and ceiling. While a mellow green before, Syaoran's aura darkened and intensified to show his anger._

* * *

Chapter 24: The Fight

Voldemort looked at Syaoran curiously, like a small child observing something for the first time, though the expression in his eyes showed that he was interested to see what the heir of Clow Reed had to offer. "How did you find this place?" he asked as the rest of the Death Eaters came running in, but he held up a hand to stop them.

"It's quite simple, really," Syaoran said, his eyes narrowing. "The Lasin Board has the ability to track Clow Cards. Since the Sakura Cards used the Clow Cards as a base when they were reborn, the Lasin Board was still able to track down the cards and therefore Sakura." He took a step forward. "The rest was easy. I just had to find her aura."

"Syaoran…" Sakura said softly, giving him a small smile.

"A valiant effort, boy," Voldemort sneered, "But you see, as she chose to come with us, she doesn't need saving."

"She only chose to go with you to protect everyone else from you, but you didn't keep your promise to her, did you? I didn't expect you to from the beginning. Sakura is a pure and kindhearted person, and you betrayed her like that!" Syaoran snarled. "And for that, you will pay." He lifted his sword and shouted, "RAITEI SHOURAI!"

Voldemort smirked as he held out a hand and created a Protean Charm with just his hand. Then with his wand, he conjured a giant fire snake that reared up as high as it could go before striking at the boy.

"Suiryuu shourai!" Syaoran commanded as a powerful jet of water that took on the form of a dragon shot forth from his sword, clashing with the fire snake in a steamy explosion. Swiftly, he returned his sword to its false form while at the same time, he pulled out his wand with his other hand.

"Stupefy!"

"That isn't going to work against me, Li," Voldemort said as he blocked the spell with ease. "I thought we lived together long enough for you to figure that out? I am far more skilled than you are, even if you are the descendant of the famed Clow Reed."

Syaoran growled as he made slashing motions with his wand, hoping to cause bodily harm to Voldemort, but Voldemort blocked most of them, save for one that got him on the forearm and left a thin cut. However, he was unfazed by this as he cast a Stinging Hex on Syaoran.

"Protego!" Syaoran shouted, throwing up a shield to protect himself from the harmful effects of the hex. _Flipendo! _This time his spell was successful, sending Voldemort flying backward. However, Voldemort only sneered.

"You haven't won yet," he said. "Let's see if you can endure pain. CRUCIO!"

Syaoran gritted his teeth as he felt immeasurable pain, as if he was being stabbed by a thousand red-hot knives. It wasn't like anything he ever felt before—even his training in Hong Kong hadn't prepared him for this. He had thought he had felt the worst kind of pain during his training, but he was wrong. Still, he was not going to give Voldemort the satisfaction of screaming. Seeing his face contorted with pain, Sakura cried out,

"STOP IT, both of you! Please!"

"A duel does not end unless a victor is decided," Voldemort told her coldly as he continued to induce the Cruciatus Curse on Syaoran. "Hasn't anyone ever told you the conditions of a proper duel before?" He glanced at her; for a single second, Sakura thought she saw his eyes soften, but when she blinked, they hardened again. Then to Syaoran, he ordered, "Scream. Scream and beg for mercy."

"Unnnnnggghh….no…way," Syaoran growled between pants and grunts. "This…is…nothing…compared to…what I go through…for…training…to become the Li Clan leader…"

"You lie," Voldemort said in his high, cold voice. "Your face, Syaoran Li, tells me otherwise."

"Believe what you will," Syaoran snarled. "But I will never, EVER submit myself to you. I will NEVER beg for mercy from you. And I won't let you harm or touch Sakura!" He put his wand away and released his sword once more. "RAITEI SHOURAI!" Bolts of lightning shot forth from the blade of his sword at Voldemort, who was forced to stop using the Cruciatus Curse on Syaoran in order to block the attack. He then swiftly rose to his feet and held two fingers up at eye-level. "Kashin shourai!" From his two upright fingers, he produced a small ball of fire, which became a long strand of flames as he drew his arm away from his body. With a yell, he aimed the strand of flames at Voldemort, dispelling the flames from his fingers, so that it encircled the dark wizard.

"Yatta!" Sakura cheered, but her facial expression quickly felled when she saw Voldemort chuckle evilly.

"Let me show you a REAL fire attack," Voldemort said, using a water attack to douse the flames and then casting the Fiendfyre Curse, causing fiery chimeras to rise from the flames. Though the Fiendfyre Curse involved powerful dark magic, Voldemort had the skills necessary to keep the deadly curse until control. Syaoran was forced to switch to a water attack, which was powerful enough to take down one chimera, but not all 3 that rose from the flames. "Damn!"

"Firey, control the size of the flames!" Sakura shouted as she called on one of the elemental cards. She knew that since the Firey spirit governed all forms of fire, no matter what the size of the fire or how the fire was produced, the Firey could control it. From a card rose an orange spirit with flaming wings and a red-jeweled headband on his forehead. Without wasting any time, the Firey flew over the fiery chimeras created by the Fiendfyre Curse to reduce their size.

"Watery! Earthy! Help douse the flames!" Sakura cried as two more cards flew out of her hidden dress pocket, from which a watery spirit and a giant serpentine dragon emerged, dousing the flames and snuffing out their oxygen source, respectively. Voldemort's eyes widened as he watched Fiendfyre get defeated by the two cards. How could that be? It was impossible to stop Fiendfyre—the powerful dark curse could have easily overtaken even an inexperienced magician! And yet this girl had quelled the flames so effortlessly.

Having done their jobs, the three elemental spirits returned to their card form and went back into Sakura's pocket. Turning to face Syaoran, she asked,

"Are you okay?"

Syaoran nodded. "I could've handled myself, you know. You didn't need to interfere."

Sakura frowned. "Liar. Your water attack could only take down one of the chimera. I didn't want you to burn to death."

Syaoran took a step towards her and quietly pulled her to him, snaking an arm around her waist. A quiet "hoe?" left her lips as she felt her head crash against Syaoran's chest. "I know," he murmured.

Sakura smiled at the warm feeling he was giving her. She wanted to stay like this with him forever.

"Don't interfere, girl!" Voldemort said coldly as he used a knockback jinx to force her away from him. She cried out in pain as the jinx sent her flying back against a wall. Turning his attention back to Syaoran, Voldemort smirked.

"Now, where were we? Ah, yes." His facial features then contorted. "Say goodbye to your precious cherry blossom, Syaoran Li. AVADA KEDAVRA!" A green bolt of light shot forth from the wand towards Syaoran's chest. Sakura watched in horror as everything seemed to travel in slow motion for her. She needed to act fast!

"SHIELD!" she screamed. Without a second to spare, an enormous red dome enveloped Syaoran, with the Shield's true form in front of Syaoran. Sakura watched with baited breath as a split second later, the green light hit against the red dome. She was stronger now, more stronger than she was at age 12, so the Shield must be powerful enough to protect against anything now, right? Suddenly, there was a large explosion, and Sakura screamed as she threw her arms up to protect herself from flying debris while Voldemort and the Death Eaters used Shield Charms to protect themselves. When the dust cleared, Sakura gasped in shock when she saw Syaoran lying still on the ground and the Shield Card on the ground next to him. Immediately she rushed past Voldemort and knelt down by his side.

"Syaoran!" she cried as she gently pulled him up and rested his head on her lap. Immediately, she pressed two fingers against his carotid artery to check for a pulse. To her relief, it was there, but very faint, and she could also sense his aura as well, weak as it was. The Shield had done its job.

"It's no use, girl. He's dead," Voldemort said coldly. "There is nothing that can stop the Killing Curse."

Sakura shook her head as tears of relief flowed down her cheeks. "No," she said softly. "He's _alive._"

"WHAT?" Voldemort's eyes were wide, as so were the Death Eaters. To their knowledge, no one except Harry Potter had ever survived a Killing Curse before, and this girl was claiming the boy was still alive.

"His aura…I can still feel it," Sakura said softly. "It's faint, but it's still there. If he was dead, I wouldn't feel his aura anymore. He also has a weak pulse." She picked up the Shield Card and kissed it before holding it against her chest. "Thank you. Really, thank you. I'm sorry you got hurt."

There was near silence all around, with the only audible sound being Sakura's sniffling. Everyone else were stunned into silence, shocked that Syaoran was still alive, that the shield she used to protect him actually held up against the Killing Curse. Then Voldemort waved his wand. Thick, purple smoke suddenly rose around the two foreign students. Sakura gasped as she bent over Syaoran's body, as if to shield him. He had done so much for her, and now it was her turn to protect him. However, when the smoke cleared, she was astonished to find that Syaoran was gone!

"Syaoran? No, no, no, where'd he go!" she whimpered in disbelief, looking around wildly for any traces of him.

"Your precious boy is no longer here," Voldemort answered.

"What did you do with him? Where did you send him?" Sakura demanded.

Voldemort smirked. "Far, far away."

Sakura gasped, her hands flying up to cover her mouth in horror. "No…"

"Dolohov, cast a Fidelius Charm on this place so that no one can interfere," Voldemort said coolly. He then swiftly left the room, with Bellatrix and some of the other Death Eaters following after him. Sakura broke out into sobs as she hugged herself and hunched over. Killian walked over and knelt down in front of her, then reached out to caress a side of her face with an outstretched hand. Sakura flinched at the touch, but didn't try to push him away. Killian smiled at this.

"Why ruin a lovely face with the crying? Don't you worry your pretty little head," he said, brushing away her tears with his thumbs. "We'll make sure to take good care of you." He leaned forward and murmured darkly into her ear, "Let's see what the dark lord has in store with you, shall we?" He then rose to his feet and left, leaving Sakura all alone.


	25. No Escape

Chapter 25: No Escape

Tomoyo gasped as she gazed out the window of the limo and saw a brown haired boy, lying on the ground. "Stop the car!" she instructed. The driver did so, and Tomoyo hurried out and rushed over to the boy. To her shock, it was Syaoran!

"Li-kun?" she asked. Immediately, she checked his pulse, and sighed with relief when she found that it was there.

Syaoran groaned as the sound of her voice stirred him. His eyes fluttered open halfway, then fully when he saw Tomoyo looking back at him with concern.

"Daidouji? Where am I?"

"Tomoeda," Tomoyo said. "Li-kun, what happened? Why are you here?"

Syaoran growled as he pushed himself up. "That bastard…I can't believe he sent me here!" He started to stand up, but instead collapsed.

"Oh, Li-kun!" Tomoyo cried.

"Daidouji, he's got Sakura…"

"What?" Tomoyo's eyes widened. "Who does?"

"Voldemort," Syaoran said, clenching his fists tightly. "He's got Sakura. He's imprisoned her. And I think he used a relocation spell to send me here."

"Oh my!" Tomoyo gasped, her eyes wide with shock. "Is Sakura-chan alright?"

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah. But I can't imagine what he would do to her…he's an evil and merciless dark wizard. And I can't let her get hurt by him. So I need to get back."

"How are you going to do that?" Tomoyo asked.

"I'm going to call Wei and ask him to book the next available flight for today," Syaoran said determinedly.

Tomoyo nodded. "Before you go, let me patch you up first! You can't rescue Sakura-chan if you're like this."

Syaoran smiled at her. "Thanks, Daidouji."

* * *

Sakura sat up against the corner of the wall on the bed, her knees brought up against her chest and her arms encircled around them as she rested her chin on the groove between her knees. Next to her was a plate of stale bread that she hadn't touched yet. She was thankful, though, that they weren't intent on letting her starve. Still, though, the chances of her being found were now close to zilch, since Voldemort had ordered Dolohov to cast a Fidelius Charm on their location, and Sakura knew that only the Secret Keeper could disclose the whereabouts of the location. She figured that Voldemort would make himself Secret Keeper, as he didn't seem like the type to trust anyone else. She closed her eyes…and suddenly found herself in a room alit with flames again. The same room she had been having nightmares over after her return to Hogwarts from Christmas break. And there was that same figure with the cold red eyes smirking back at her, only this time, instead of being at a distance, he was up close to her, grasping her chin with one hand and looking down into her frightened green eyes. She was paralyzed with fear and couldn't move. She couldn't even scream as the figure, cloaked in shadows, drew closer to her; instead, all she could do was close her eyes and wait for the inevitable.

At that moment, Sakura's eyes shot open as she awoke from her dream state. She shook her head from side to side to shake the feeling of the dream off before noticing that she wasn't in her cell anymore. Instead, she was laid out on a chaise longue facing a long coffee table.

"Ah, you're awake again. Good."

Sakura raised her eyes a little to see Voldemort looking evilly down at her. She didn't say anything, but instead dropped her gaze.

"Poor, sweet child," Voldemort said softly. "All alone and afraid." He snickered evilly as he traced the contours of her jawline with his wand, causing her to flinch. "But worry not, dear cherry blossom. Lord Voldemort is merciful."

Sakura didn't believe that; if he was merciful, he wouldn't have attempted to kill Syaoran or used the Cruciatus Curse. He wouldn't have killed all those innocent people in his past life. He had also tried to kill her the night before, on her birthday. Suddenly, she felt something scaly slide up her body, starting with her legs. She nearly screamed out in fright when she saw a large black snake with gold patterning on her person, its forked tongue slipping in and out of its mouth rapidly.

"Ah, yes. Say hello to Hecate," Voldemort said, but his voice might have been faint, for all Sakura could do was stare frightfully back at the snake, not liking how it was slowly slithering up her body. She whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt it traveling up over her shoulder, around her neck, and come back around to her other shoulder

"_Do you like our prisoner, my dear Hecate?_" Voldemort asked in Parseltongue to the snake. Hecate, now up to Sakura's neck, flickered her tongue against the girl's skin before slithering off her. Voldemort then waved his hand. Suddenly, Sakura felt a jolt of electricity shocking her, causing her to fall off the longue and onto the floor.

"Hoee!" she cried.

Voldemort frowned. "My intent was to get you to jump up onto your feet, not fall onto the floor. Nevertheless, get up!" he ordered.

Sakura quickly scrambled to her feet, not wanting to know what Voldemort would do to her if she didn't obey. He nodded in approval at her quick response.

"Very good, Sakura, very good." He took a step closer to her and held the back of his hand against her cheek, smirking as she trembled against his touch. He delighted over how scared she was of him, how she didn't try to defy him like Harry Potter, his archnemesis. Knowing that she must be wondering about her dear Syaoran, he continued,

"Do not fear. As I have told you before, I have not killed the boy, but rather relocated him…far away to prevent him from meddling with my plans."

Sakura widened her eyes. "Are you sure? Really, really sure? Can you please tell me where you sent him so I can relax? Please?"

"Kinomoto, the relocation spell simply relocates my opponents to various places. He could be in Phuket or Antarctica. I cannot control where the spell sends my opponents. That is its limitations."

Sakura frowned. "You're not lying to me, are you?"

Voldemort smirked. "Whether I am telling the truth or lying, it still benefits me. You, after all, are still here." He then forcefully grabbed her chin and narrowed his eyes.

"Now tell me, what did you do to me?"

Sakura frowned. "I don't know what you mean."

"After you transferred a bit of your powers to me—"

"Against my will," Sakura interjected.

"Do not interrupt me!" Voldemort's voice rose angrily. He then held a hand against her cheek. "As I was saying, after you transferred a bit of your powers to me, there was a burning sensation in me, a sensation I had never felt before. What did you do to me?"

Sakura frowned. "I…didn't do anything. At least, not anything that I'm aware of."

"Not anything you're aware of," Voldemort repeated, studying her carefully.

Sakura shook her head. She then looked up at him, afraid. "Are you going to kill me now?" she asked softly. "That's why you called me here, right?"

Voldemort narrowed his eyes. "No," he said finally after a long moment of silence. "I am not."

Sakura widened her eyes in surprise. "Hoe? But why? Yesterday you were intent on me dying."

Voldemort carefully regarded her words; it was true that yesterday, he had wanted to kill her. However, he couldn't kill her without knowing the reason behind why he was feeling a strange sensation that would sometimes flare up. Plus, he had learned that he could always just force Sakura to transfer her magic to him if he needed it.

* * *

"Dad, do you know what they're going to do with Sakura?" Scorpius asked. "They're not going to kill her…are they?" He knew about his father and grandparents' prior association with Lord Voldemort from a young age, as his parents made sure that no secrets would be kept within the family in order to maintain a healthy relationship.

Draco clenched his knuckles until they turned white. "I don't know, son. The dark lord is a ruthless being." He rolled up his left sleeve and stared at the Dark Mark, which was bold and prominent. He winced. He knew that a bold and pulsing Dark Mark meant that he should return to Lord Voldemort at a moment's notice, but as he and his family had defected to the good side years ago, at the tide of the battle, and Potter had accounted for his and his family's change in loyalty, he knew it would do him no good to rejoin the dark side. Besides, he had lived it after talking the talk for so long, and he had learned that it wasn't as glorious as he had thought it had been when he was a scared little boy.

"But Dad, can't you, I don't know, pretend to be on the dark side again, and rescue Sakura when you infiltrate wherever it is they're hiding her?"

"Scorpius, it is not as easy as it looks."

"But Dad, you know Occlumency, you can prevent him from finding out your ulterior motives!"

"Even _so,_ the Malfoys have had a falling out with him. We are no longer associated with him any longer. Now run along and let the adults take care of this mess."

Scorpius sighed. "Fine." He then walked away from his dad, disappointed that there wasn't anything they could do to help Sakura. He had liked her as a friend.

"On the contrary, Draco, I would say that Miss Kinomoto is doing quite well," Eriol said with a smile on his face as he came over.

"How do you know this?" Neville asked. "You don't know what Voldemort is like!"

Eriol smiled. "Because even though it appears as if he's taken her to a location hidden by a Fidelius Charm, I can still sense her aura, and it's still going strong. Besides, Li has gone out to rescue her, and Mr. Potter and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are working to arrest anyone associated with Lord Voldemort or who has broken out of Azkaban. She'll be back safe and sound." He was unaware that Syaoran had lost against Voldemort, or that he was now on a different continent.

* * *

"That is true," Voldemort said in response to Sakura's question. "However, I have decided not to kill you. You are more valuable to me alive than dead. Now tell me, Sakura. How do you like the nightmares I sent you?"

Sakura widened her eyes. "You're the ones who gave me those nightmares? Why?"

Voldemort laughed evilly. "Why? Originally my plans were to kill you in your sleep, in your dreams. But of course, I learned that I couldn't do that, for you would always wake up in the nick of time. That time you had a fever, wasn't just any ordinary fever." He brushed a bang aside with his hand, watching as her eyes widened with every word he said until she couldn't widen her eyes anymore. It amused him, to say the least, to see her reaction to the news.

"Then…earlier…" she began.

Voldemort smiled coldly at her. "Yes, I gave you that as well. And here's a fun surprise." He leaned in closer and whispered into her ear, "That person you've been seeing in all your nightmares…was me."

Sakura gasped as she jumped back, her hands flying up to her mouth. She had suspected so, but couldn't believe that he was confirming it. Voldemort simply grabbed hold of her wrists and lowered them to her sides while looking stoically back at her.

"You want to know how this last nightmare plays out, don't you?" he asked.

Sakura parted her lips to speak, but found no sound came out. She wanted to shake her head and tell him she did not want to know, but found that she couldn't do that either. It was like Voldemort had used a total body bind on her. All she could do was bow her head and close her eyes, just like in the dreams. Voldemort smiled evilly down at her. He brushed another hair away from her face again, then swiftly tilted her head up a bit as he captured her lips into a kiss. He had meant for it to be cold and expressionless, to show her that he held her life in his hands, to show her that she couldn't get away from him if she wanted to, for he was Lord Voldemort, the most fearless dark lord to ever live. However, he soon felt salty tears, and drew away to see her crying silently. As soon as his lips were no longer on hers, Sakura pushed him away and turned on her heels and ran towards the door.

"I did not give you permission to leave," Voldemort said coldly, stopping her in her tracks just as she placed her hand on the doorknob. Sakura gulped, wondering if she should turn back around and face Voldemort or just open the door and go out. After some contemplating, she twisted the doorknob and flung the door open just enough so that she could pass through. Then she made a dash for it, her head bowed and eyes directly on the floor as she ran, not wanting to see anyone. Flinging a door open, she slipped inside. As it turned out, the room she entered was a small bedroom, with an actual bed covered with proper blankets and pillows and a small desk. As the door slowly closed behind her, she slowly walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, wondering who could've once lived here before Voldemort and his followers took over. As she stared at the wall and desk in front of her, realization slowly came to her. The Through! Even if the front door had been magically hidden to prevent her from escaping, she could still use the Through!

_Allow me to pass through these walls, Through!_ She thought. She felt a sensation wash over her body, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that she was partially transparent, allowing her to pass through the walls. Facing the wall with a window in front of her with determination, as she knew that particular wall was the one that would take her outside, she took a deep breath and held her hand out, testing it first. Glee filled her when she saw her hand pass through. She then maneuvered the rest of her body through the wall, keeping her eyes closed. The moment her body was on the other side, she felt raindrops splatter down on her. She opened her eyes and glanced around. No longer was she in the bedroom. No longer was she inside, kept imprisoned. They didn't know that she had the ability to walk through walls. And though it was raining and she was now soaking wet, she was happy to be free. Turning around, her eyes widened when she saw that she had been in a humongous mansion, and once again wondered just who it belonged to.

"Hoeee…" she murmured softly. She furiously shook her head. Now wasn't the time to awe over something. She had to get out of there. She couldn't use the Fly, due to it raining and her wings would weigh her down tremendously if they were too wet—after all, there was a reason why many birds didn't fly during rainy weather. Plus, it would But wait—she could just use the Rain to stop the rain!

"Rain!" she shouted. A cute girl with a jester's hat that fell into two long points tipped in rain drop shapes riding a cloud appeared and soared up into the sky. Some seconds later, the rain had let up, although the sky was still a dark cloudy gray. That was fine to her, so long as she could use the Fly.

"Fly!" she shouted. Wings sprouted out from her back, and she took to the skies, her wings flapping behind her. She felt the ambient temperature around her get colder, and she wrapped her arms around herself as she flew, wondering if the change in temperature was because she was now higher in the air. There was also the fact that she was only wearing a dress and was practically barefoot. The temperature dropped even more, and Sakura realized with horror that it wasn't a normal temperature drop that came with elevation, as she had now leveled off and was no longer ascending higher into the sky. Her magical senses picked up on a dark, evil presence. Looking up, she gasped upon seeing several black, cloaked figures floating around.

_Dementors! _She thought, remembering what she learned about them from Defense Against the Dark Arts. She wondered what they were doing there. Suddenly, they flew rapidly towards her. Sakura let out a scream as she flapped her wings and flew away, hoping to shake them off.

"HOEEEEEE!" she cried. Glancing over her shoulder as she flew, she gasped when she saw that they were gaining fast on her. Looking forward again, she abruptly came to a stop when she saw Dementors coming at her from the front. Not giving her time to react, one of the Dementors in front of her grabbed her. Sakura screamed in fright as the Dementor that took hold of her fed on her, sucking the happiness out of her. She could feel herself getting weaker with every Dementor that took a pass at eating away at her happiness and positive emotions, bringing forth negative memories. Her wings disappeared, and she was now kept suspended in air by the Dementors.

_No…I can't. I won't! I won't let them take my happiness away from me! _Sakura thought. _I will absolutely, absolutely…not lose to them! _A card slipped out of her dress and emitted a blinding bright glow. Sakura didn't get to see which card it was before she lost consciousness from being attacked by the Dementors and fell rapidly towards the ground. The rain fell back down again as Sakura no longer had control over the Rain Card. Instead of falling directly to the ground to her death, however, her body was suddenly suspended in air and then slowly lowered, as if a Levitation Charm had been put on her. A pair of arms reached out and closed around her body. Amycus looked down at Sakura's unconscious and soaking wet body, her head tilted back a bit.

"How troublesome. You could have avoided all of this if you had been a good girl and just stayed inside and didn't try to escape." He then carried her unconscious body back towards their headquarters. From one of the windows, Voldemort coldly watched as Amycus brought her back in from her ordeal with the Dementors.

"My dear Sakura, haven't you realized by now that there is no escaping from me?"

He ordered his Death Eater to place her in one of the bedrooms rather than in her cell. He then stood by her bedside, towering over her unconscious figure as she breathed softly. While previously she had been wet, a simple spell dried her off quickly. For someone who had voluntarily decided to give up her freedom for the sake of saving her beloved friends, she had been quite a troublesome person ever since she arrived. Just then, there was a loud knock before the door opened. Bellatrix bowed to Voldemort before raising herself proudly to her full height.

"My lord," she said. "It appears that Potter and his friends have left the Ministry and are searching for the girl. Now is the perfect time to strike!"

Voldemort nodded. "Very well. Round up 20 of them for me, including the Carrows, Dolohov, and Sewlyn," he said. "Meanwhile, tell the rest to keep watch over the girl to make sure she does not try to escape again."

"My lord, why not just kill her?" Bellatrix demanded.

"Because, my dear Bella, I have found that the girl is more useful to me alive than dead. Now come! It is time for me to announce my return." He then briskly walked out, with Bellatrix following gleefully behind him.

* * *

A/N: What plans does Voldemort have for the wizarding world? Will there be an impending war? Will Syaoran return to England in time to save Sakura from the clutches of evil? Keep in mind that the Fidelius Charm wouldn't work on him, as he already knows where their headquarters is, having visited it once already, and therefore it wouldn't be hidden to him. And what of that tiny, warm feeling Voldemort feels deep within his soul? Is it the budding of something new and unexpected? Is Dumbledore's prediction (see ch. 16) coming to fruition? Can Sakura really change Voldemort for the better before disaster happens? Find out in upcoming chapters!


	26. The Impending Battle

A/N: Here's chapter 26.

animeandmangafangirl: Yue is far away in Japan. He wouldn't be able to sense her or tell where she is. He could probably tell if her magic supply got cut off as a result of death (because then he would be disappearing as a result), but she's still alive, of course. Plus, there's the Fidelius Charm, which prevents them from finding out where Voldemort and his followers are holding Sakura captive.

* * *

Chapter 26: The Impending Battle

Her breathing was uneven as she slept, her eyebrows furrowed together as she rolled over to one side. A small moan escaped Sakura's lips as she subconsciously pulled the blanket tighter over her body. A shield was cast over her to prevent anyone from trying to harm her while she slept. At that moment, there was a small glow from beneath the blanket, right where Sakura's dress pocket was.

"_Where…am I?" Sakura murmured as she looked around and saw cobblestones and various shops. However, the street appeared to be empty, with all the shops closed. Not a soul was in sight, which was rather odd. Even if shops were closed, there would have been some loiterers. As she looked closer, she realized that this place was very familiar to her. _

_All of a sudden, she felt a chill run down her spine. Glancing up, she saw a huge, smoky projection of a green skull with an animated snake protruding from its mouth. While the sky had looked grayish before, it was pitch-black now, tinged with an orange cast, indicating that somewhere, something was helping illuminate the sky. Taking her eyes off the skull mark in the sky, Sakura realized that her surroundings had changed. All around her, spells were being cast, people were shouting, screaming, crying, running. It was pure chaos, and it was like she wasn't even there. She spun around, sensing something behind her, and widened her eyes to see the silhouettes of Eriol, Ruby Moon, Spinel Sun, and her Guardians, Keroberos and Yue. She wasn't at all surprised to see Ruby and Spinel, since she figured that Eriol must have summoned them to his side, nor was she surprised to see Kero, since Tomoyo had sent him over in a package, but she was particularly surprised to see Yue. Both Yue and Ruby were firing energy crystals at the faceless enemy, while Keroberos was firing fireballs after fireballs. Spinel Sun, on the other hand, shot a powerful red laser from the red jewel on his forehead. _

"_What's going on?" she whimpered. "Everyone, stop it!" However, her cries went unheard. She was invisible to them, as evident by spells going right through her body. She didn't understand what was going on, and it scared her. Then she saw him. Away from the chaotic fighting, she saw a familiar, chocolate-brown haired boy, dressed in the green garments she hadn't seen in so long, throwing spells after spells, both western and eastern, at a tall, cloaked figure, who easily deflected the attacks and countered with his own. _

"SYAORAN!" Sakura's eyes shot open as she bolted up in bed, her heart racing quickly and pounding madly inside her chest. She glanced around and realized that she was in a bedroom. However, as much as she would like to marvel at the bedroom she was in and wonder where she was, she had other things to deal with. Throwing the covers off her body, she was surprised to see the Dream Card out in the open.

"A prophetic dream," Sakura realized. "Dream was telling me something!"

Wasting no time at all, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and got to her feet, then briskly walked to the door. She swiftly swung the door open, ready to race out of there, only to gasp in both shock and horror as she took a few steps back. She recognized Killian, but she didn't recognize the woman and the other man with him. With sick realization, she knew that she had not gotten away. She knew that they had known she had escaped and had come after her, and most likely re-captured her when she had fallen unconscious from the Dementor attack. The woman had dark purple hair with dark red tips and an asymmetric bob that was short on one side and long on the other. The man, on the other hand, sported a platinum blonde buzzcut and wore an eyepatch over one eye. His muscular bare arms, which were folded in front of his chest, bore large tattoos that almost covered every inch of skin, though on his left arm, only the Dark Mark was on his forearm. On one ear dangled a gold earring. Killian pretended to look at his fingernails before looking dangerously up at the girl.

"You're not thinking of escaping again, are you? When do you learn?" he tsked, taking a step closer to Sakura; in response, Sakura took a couple of steps back, keeping a wary eye on the dark wizard.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "Please, let me go!"

"Can't. Master's orders," the man behind Killian said, smiling cruelly at her. "My, you're a cutie. By the way, the name is Lance."

Sakura shuddered at his attempt on trying to hit on her. She was only sixteen! Shaking her head, she tried begging again. "Please, you have to let me go! Something terrible is going to happen! Please!"

"No amount of begging is going to make us give into your demands, girl," the woman snarled. "The dark lord has assigned us to keep a close eye on you. We could have been out there, joining him in the takeover of the wizarding world, but no, we have to sit here and babysit _you_!"

Realizing that begging was not going to get her anywhere, Sakura shouted, "TIME!" in an attempt to stop time. However, nothing happened. Widening her eyes, she shouted, "Time!" again. Again, nothing happened. Frantically, she grabbed the star key pendant from her neck and held it out. "Key that hides the power of the stars, reveal your true form before me! I, Sakura, command you under contract! RELEASE!" Just like when she tried to activate the Time Card, the Star Key did not glow, nor did it transform into a staff.

"Release! Release! _Release! __**RELEASE!**_**" **

Still, nothing happened. Gasping in shock, Sakura collapsed onto the floor as she held the star key in her palm, wondering why her magic wasn't working. Tears formed in her eyes. Why? What had happened? Why wasn't she able to use magic anymore?

"It can't be…"

"Yes, flower," Killian said, laughing evilly. "This entire room that you are in has an anti-magic spell on it, to prevent you from using your magic from trying to escape. Of course, it means that we can't use our magic either, but as long as we can keep you from escaping, it doesn't matter! We can use our magic in other parts of this place anyway!"

Sakura's head snapped up at the mention that other rooms did not have an anti-magic spell cast on them. She knew then that she had to get out of that room so that she could use her magic and make an escape! However, she needed a way to distract the wizards before her. Widening her eyes, she gasped and pointed at something behind them.

"Hoeeeee! What's that?!" she cried, sounding like she was in pure terror.

"What's what?" the man growled as all three of them turned around, but didn't see anything. In that split second, Sakura picked herself up from the ground and made a mad dash around them.

"Hey!" the woman shouted, realizing that Sakura had duped them so that she could escape. However, Sakura was too quick for them. She crossed the threshold, then kicked the door closed behind her.

"LOCK!" she cried, hoping that it would work. True to what Killian said, her magic was working again. A pink Lock appeared over the door, preventing the inhabitants in the room from attempting to escape.

"Thanks Lock!" Sakura said breathlessly as she heard the sound of fists pounding on the door from the other side.

"OPEN UP, KINOMOTO. I SAID, OPEN UP!" she heard Killian yell.

"Sorry, but I've got a dark lord to stop," Sakura said breathlessly as she backed away from the door. Just in case there were more Death Eaters, she held up a card and threw it into the air. "Sleep, put all the inhabitants of this house to sleep!" As Sleep flew around to put all the inhabitants to sleep, Sakura broke into a run to go find the front door. Now that she had seen the front door from the outside, she had a good idea of where it would be. As expected, the front door was visible to her now as she came around a corner, as she had already seen the door from the outside. Without wasting any precious seconds, she threw the front door open and crossed the threshold just as Sleep returned to her pocket, having done its job. Knowing better than to use Fly and risk getting attacked by Dementors again, she decided to get as far away from the site as possible before using Teleport—after all, the Anti-Disapparition Jinx was only good within a certain range, right? She ran into the forest, all while transforming her star key into her staff to use as protection.

* * *

"Thank you," Syaoran said after Tomoyo finished bandaging his arm.

Tomoyo smiled. "Anything for a friend! You're always caring for and looking out for Sakura-chan, and I'm grateful to you for that, especially since I can't be there for her."

Syaoran looked at her wonderingly. "Daidouji..."

"Please Li-kun, if Sakura-chan is in trouble, do everything in your power to bring her safely back," Tomoyo said, clasping her hands together and looking at him with pleading eyes. "I can't bear it if anything happens to Sakura-chan!"

Syaoran nodded, his eyes filled with determination. "That is something I will never, ever allow to happen to her. If those bastard wizards do anything to her, I will hurt them and they will wish they never messed with the future leader of the Li Clan."

At that moment, his cell phone rang. Immediately, he picked it up. "Hello?" His eyes widened. "Mother! …Yes. They've got her, mom…yes, I'm in Japan right now. A relocation spell sent me here…yes, mom. Bye." Ending the call, Syaoran stared at the phone in his hand. Tomoyo looked up at him worryingly.

"Li-kun?"

"Daidouji, can I get a ride to the airport? A private plane is going to take me back to England."

Tomoyo smiled. "Of course…so long as I can come with you!"

Syaoran visibly blanched at this. "Daidouji, you can't be SERIOUS! It's too dangerous, and what would your mom say?"

"Since when has danger stopped me from filming in action?" Tomoyo scoffed, then giggled. "I'll make sure not to get in the way."

Syaoran shook his head. "Muggles can't see Hogwarts."

"Isn't there any magical place that I _can _see?" Tomoyo insisted.

Syaoran hesitated. "Well…there's Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade…they're not Unplottable…"

Tomoyo smiled. "Perfect!"

Syaoran groaned. "I hope you know what you're getting into, Daidouji."

Tomoyo just smiled. "I just need to get my bodyguards to get the car ready. Please wait here." She then left the living room to go talk with her bodyguards. A few minutes later, she poked her head back in. "Let's go, Li-kun!" she beamed.

* * *

"Hoeee! This is so scary!" Sakura murmured softly to herself as she clutched her staff tightly in her hands and held it close to her body as she ventured into the forest, stepping over visible roots and passing through foliage. She didn't know where she was going—all she knew was that she just wanted to get to a point where she could use the Teleport. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a gray blur race by. Curiosity taking the better of her, she changed directions and ran after the gray blur.

"Wait!" she cried. She didn't know why she was following the gray blur, other than that her curious nature made her want to know what or who it was. She ran into a clearing, but she couldn't see whatever it was she was chasing after anymore. She spun wildly around, the skirt of her dress wrapping around her legs as she did so, but she couldn't see the gray blur anymore.

"Hoee…" Had the gray blur been just a figment of her imagination? She then realized that she didn't know where she was now. Now wearing a frightened expression on her face, she thought of all the possible things that could be hiding out in the forest: Acromantulas, giants, trolls, werewolves, ghosts... She shuddered at the thought of ghosts, her worst fear. It also struck her that she was alone in the forest, which made her an even easier target.

_No!_ she thought as she gripped her staff firmly in her hands. _Being a coward will get me nowhere!_ _I'm the Cardmistress!_

Just then, something clamped down hard on her shoulder. Losing all sense of her bravery, she let out a terrified wail as she dropped down to a squat and covered her ears with her hands while squeezing her eyes shut.

"HOEEEEEEEEEEE! I DON'T WANNA DIE, I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

"While we would love to kill you for what you've put us through, we can't, or else we'd be the ones in trouble," a familiar voice spoke.

Sakura nearly gasped in shock as she removed her hands from her ears and slowly raised her head to find herself looking up at Killian, Lance, and the purple-haired woman. She was at a loss for words as she stammered, "H-h-how did you find me?"

"You're underage, my dear," the woman snickered, her voice low and sultry. "Therefore you have the Trace on you. All underage magic users do."

"The…Trace?" Sakura repeated, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "What's the Trace?"

"Why, it's a simple tracking charm placed on all witches and wizards under the age of seventeen. Goodness, didn't they teach you this in that school of yours?" the woman laughed.

Sakura was still confused. "Hoe?"

"Nevermind that," Lance said. "Most important thing is, we've found you and you're coming back with us."

"No, I'm not!" Sakura insisted as she stood up. "I've got something I need to do and you can't—" Her words were suddenly drowned out as she began to see images dance through her eyes and hear sounds that weren't there. A green flash. People screaming and running. An army of wizards in hooded cloaks. A projection of a skull in the sky with a snake protruding from its mouth, with an ominous green cast. Then she saw a homely looking building and a sign. _The Hog's Head._ Immediately, she closed her eyes and cried out. When her mind came back into focus, she was surprised to find that she was back on the ground, with the three looking down at her quizzically, wondering what it was that made her stop mid-sentence and caused her to suddenly fall over, as if an invisible force had pushed her.

"He's in Hogsmeade," she realized, not noticing that she was having premonitions without having to sleep on it. Quickly, she rose to her feet and tried to run forward, but suddenly collapsed back down.

"You don't think we'll let you get away from us again, do you?" Killian sneered.

Sakura glanced up at him. "We'll see about that," she said, then drew a Sakura card out of her pocket. She glanced down at it with determination. _Please work!_ She thought before throwing it into the air. "TELEPORT!" she cried. "Take me where I want to go!" A magic circle appeared under her, and in the next second, she disappeared. Killian, Lance, and the woman looked around wildly for trances of her, but she left behind none.

"SHE GOT US AGAIN!" the woman snarled angrily.

"Don't worry, Marlene. It's easy to track her down again. We just need to get to her before the Dark Lord does," Killian snarled. "Or else we'd be finished."

* * *

Sakura found herself on a side street off of Hogsmeade when she arrived, away from the main shops. She was surprised to see that everything was relatively fine at the moment; Voldemort and his followers hadn't attacked yet. Suddenly, she heard a loud, booming voice echo, but the voice seemed much higher, much more sinister.

"Greetings. Perhaps, in my absence, you have all forgotten me. To those of you younger than the age of 25, you may not know who I am, but I will make sure you do."

From all around her, Sakura noticed witches and wizards coming out of the shops, wondering what was going on. Many of them looked frightened. Suddenly, she heard a scream, followed by, "LOOK! Isn't that Voldemort's mark?!" and "I thought he was dead! Didn't Harry Potter defeat him?!"

Sakura immediately glanced up at the sky and paled. Sure enough, there was the skull with the snake protruding from its mouth, exactly like what she had seen in her premonition. The impending battle was coming, and she knew it.

* * *

"Looks like our friend is in Hogsmeade," Eriol said with a smile. "Pomona, if you don't mind, I shall head on over there."

Professor Sprout nodded. "Good luck, and be careful, Eriol."

"I'm coming with you," Neville declared.

Eriol nodded. "Alright."

"I'm coming, too!" Kero declared. "I'm going to get that evil, conniving fool for messing with my mistress!"

Neville turned to Draco. "What about you? Are you coming?" he demanded.

Draco smirked. "Don't think so, Longbottom. Someone's got to stay behind and protect the kids."

Neville smirked back as he nodded. Raising his sun staff, Eriol said loudly in an authoritative, commanding voice, "I, Eriol, call upon the powers of the dark. I command thee to return to me at once! Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun!" Two dark balls of dark, magical energy appeared in front of him. The energy dispelled, revealing a tall, dark red haired woman with red butterfly wings and a slit dress, and a panther with blue butterfly wings and a jewel on its forehead. Gasps could be heard from the students from all around at the appearance of Eriol's Guardians.

"We are at your service, Master," Spinel spoke.

Eriol smiled. "Good." He turned to the astonished students. "Students, meet my Guardians, Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon." He glanced at his guardians. "We are about to face a battle. Prepare yourselves." Then to Neville, he gave a single nod. Neville understood what that meant and nodded back. Eriol raised his staff once again. It glowed red. In the next instant, he, Kero, Spinel, Ruby, and Neville had disappeared from the Great Hall. A second later, they were in Hogsmeade, right in front of the Three Broomsticks. Kero was the first to speak, his eyes wide with surprise.

"I can sense her now! Sakura is here!"


	27. A Song of Storm and Fire

Chapter 27: A Song of Storm and Fire

With a loud pop, Voldemort and his followers appeared in Hogsmeade near the Shrieking Shack. Taking a step forward, Bellatrix shoved her wand into the air and casted a spell, watching as a blinding bright beam of magic shot out from the tip and into the darkening sky. The beam took on the form of a bright green skull with a tongue protruding from its mouth. It was Voldemort's long-forgotten mark. Tapping his wand against his throat, Voldemort hissed, _"Sonorous!"_ before speaking authoritatively amidst the cries and screams that he and his followers heard around them, many of them scared and confused.

"Greetings. Perhaps, in my absence, you have all forgotten me. To those of you younger than the age of 25, you may not know who I am, but I will make sure you do. Yes, it is true that I, Lord Voldemort, have returned. It is pitiful, the state that the wizarding world has become. But I shall reign supreme once again and restore all of the wizarding world to its former glory. Are you listening, Potter?"

Meanwhile elsewhere, Sakura was listening in, her eyes wide with horror. Her knuckles were white from gripping the edge of a building so tightly. She knew she had to stop Voldemort before anyone could get hurt. However, she also knew that he wouldn't be happy to see her there either, because then he would know that she had escaped and would inflict pain on the dark wizards who were supposed to watch over her. While she contemplated this, a yellow ball of fur suddenly smacked into her forehead.

"SAKURA, YOU'RE ALIIIIIVE! MY MISTRESS IS ALIIIIVE!" Kero cried happily, hugging her forehead.

Despite her worries, Sakura broke out into a smile as she pried Kero off her forehead and cupped him in her hands. "Mm!" she nodded. "I'm fine, see? Everything turned out alright!" Hearing footsteps, she glanced up from Kero to see Eriol rushing towards her, followed by Ruby and Spinel. A split second later, Neville appeared, along with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, all of who he had contacted with his Patronus. Of course, given Voldemort's cryptic message, contacting them with the Patronus had proven unnecessary.

"Are you alright, Sakura-san?" Eriol asked.

Sakura nodded. "Yes." She turned to Ruby and Spinel with a surprised expression. "Ruby-san, Spinel-chan, what are you two doing here?"

"I summoned them," Eriol explained.

"Sakura, I understand if you don't want to talk about it, considering the ordeal you've been through, but how did you escape, and what did Voldemort and his Death Eaters do to you?" Harry asked.

Sakura frowned. "Well, ah, my first attempt to get out was to use the Through to get past the walls, but when I used the Fly Card, I ended up running into Dementors, but I guess one of my cards scared them away or something. However, they had done some damage on me before one of the cards scared them away, and the next thing I knew, I was back inside. Then I used the Lock and Sleep to trap the Death Eaters assigned to watch over me inside the room I was in while I made my escape. I ran into the forest and when I was sure I was a considerable distance away, I just simply used Teleport." She then tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, other than stealing a third of my magic from me, trying to kill me that first night on my birthday, stealing a kiss from me, and using the Cruciatus Curse once on me because I slapped him for kissing me…nothing else happened. Well, okay, he did scare me with his pet snake—I think he called her Hecate or something. And he was nice enough to have his followers leave me food this morning, even if it was the stalest thing in the world."

Ron blanched. "Merlin's beard, he KISSED you? He's practically old enough to be your great grandfather! Well, his soul is."

Sakura nodded, turning her eyes away from the group before her. "Y-yeah. But…" She met their gazes again. "Voldemort-sama told me something strange. He said after he forced me to give some of my magic to him that he felt strange deep down, that he felt something he never felt before. And he asked me what I did, but I couldn't answer because I didn't know. Do you guys know what he's talking about?"

However, the confused looks they gave her and each other told her that they didn't know. Not even Hermione, the smartest of the bunch, knew the answer to that. Eriol rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, I have one theory, but I'll have to see this in action to confirm it."

"What's that theory, Eriol?" Harry asked.

Eriol just simply smiled. "You'll see." He then frowned. "Sakura-san, didn't Li-kun go looking for you?"

Sakura's gaze dropped back down towards the ground. "He's gone," she murmured sadly. "Voldemort-sama…sent him away with a relocation spell. He did it after I protected Syaoran from the Killing Curse with the Shield, but Shield is badly hurt now…I don't know where Syaoran is, and Voldemort-sama told me that he didn't know either, he just wanted to get Syaoran out of the way…"

The amount of shocked gasps she received after she finished caused her to look up again. When she did, she saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Professor Longbottom looking at her in shock. She wrinkled her eyebrows, confused. Why did they gasp, and why were they staring at her in shock?

"Did you just say that you stopped the Killing Curse?" Professor Longbottom asked. "A young girl such as you?"

Sakura nodded slowly. "Y-yes."

"But that's impossible! No one except Harry has ever taken a Killing Curse full-on and survived, and there is nothing that can stop the Killing Curse, not even the Shield Charm!" Hermione protested.

"Sorcery magic, especially Clow magic, works differently, Mrs. Weasley," Eriol spoke. "You see, as a sorcerer or sorceress grows stronger magically, his or her powers also increases, as well as his or her magical energy endurance. In turn, the stronger the magical user, the stronger his or her magic will be. The strength of the cards' powers are correlated with their master's. Keep in mind that Sakura-san has been in possession of the cards since she was ten, and how her magic has grown since she converted all the Clow Cards to Sakura Cards."

Sakura brought her hands up and waved them furiously in front of her at the same time she shook her head. She always felt flustered when others talked about how powerful she was. Well, sure, she was magically powerful, but she just didn't see herself that way. Even now, it was hard for her to grasp that she was more powerful than her predecessor, Clow Reed.

"Um, shouldn't we stop Voldemort-sama?" she asked, directing their focus away from her and to the problem at hand.

"Right," her Herbology professor said. "Voldemort doesn't know you're here, does he?"

Sakura shook her head. "I think he was already gone when I escaped. Only a few of his followers saw me escape."

"Then it's best that you stay out of sight," Harry said firmly. "We don't know what he would do to you if he sees you here and that you somehow escaped."

Sakura shook her head once again. "No. I'm going to help you guys fight. I won't sit by and let him kill or hurt anyone. This is my fight, too." Her eyes blazed with determination. Ruby chuckled.

"Just as stubborn as your brother."

"Just keep out of Voldemort's sight, alright?" Hermione said kindly, putting a hand on the young girl's shoulder. Sakura smiled back and nodded.

"Let's go."

* * *

"Daidouji…" Syaoran began as they arrived at Hogsmeade, stopping in front of a small café off the sidestreets.

"Yes, Li-kun?"

"I sense something evil in the area. I'm sorry, but for Sakura's sake, can you stay here from here on out? You could be killed and Sakura wouldn't want that. I'll find a way to lead her to you without attracting evil as well."

Tomoyo opened her mouth to protest, then shut it. She knew Syaoran was right, that as a non-magical person, she could do nothing but sit back and watch. She nodded. "Okay. Just…make sure Sakura-chan is alright, okay? Tell her I want to hang out with her after all this is over and celebrate her belated birthday for real."

Syaoran nodded. "Ah." He then broke into a run, leaving Tomoyo behind.

"Be safe, both of you," she said softly. She wanted to film Sakura's bravery so much, but knew that it wouldn't be worth it if it would cost her her life. She didn't want to make Sakura sad if that were to happen.

* * *

Spells and curses flew back and forth in the air as Death Eaters and dark wizards faced off against the Aurors and seasoned wizards of the light. True to her word, Sakura kept hidden, so as not to raise suspicions, and only used a little bit of her magic. She also only used the elemental cards, as well as some cards like the Freeze and Shield, so as to not raise too much suspicions. Desperately, she wished that she had her wand on her. Eriol, Ruby, and Spinel took down some of the Inferi Voldemort had animated, while the Aurors, Hermione, and Neville tackled the dark wizards and werewolves, who were in their human form due to the lack of a full moon. Sakura had to wonder how long it took for Voldemort to assemble an army of that size, and realized that it was most likely out of fear or corruption that they followed him. Without realizing it, she soon found herself facing Voldemort, but luckily for her, he didn't see her. She was seeing him from the side from where she was in the alleyway between two stores, and she could see a maniacal smirk on his face as he dueled off against his archnemesis, Harry Potter.

"I see you haven't lost your touch, Potter," he sneered.

"I see death hasn't changed you one bit either," Harry retorted back, deflecting Voldemort's curses and counteracting with his own spells. "Now tell me, Voldemort. What do you want Miss Kinomoto for, anyway? She is none of your concern! Don't drag her into these games of yours!"

"Games, Potter?" Voldemort asked, his anger flaring. "You think this is all a game? No, Potter, the girl is more useful to me than you will ever imagine."

"And I'm sure you'll dispose of her once you're through with her, like you've done before," Harry scoffed. "You haven't changed one bit…Tom."

Voldemort's eyes widened in anger. "Don't. call. Me. Tom!" he hissed as he raised his wand. "I wasn't able to kill you 25 years ago, but I will succeed this time! AVADA KEDAVRA!"

"Raitei Shourai!" From the northwest, a powerful lightning bolt suddenly came forth and zapped the wand out of Voldemort's hand. Eyes widening, Voldemort turned angrily in the direction that the lightning attack had come from, then smirked when he realized who it was. "Ah, Syaoran Li. I see you've made it back in one piece."

Syaoran, who was standing on the roof of Honeydukes, glared reproachfully down at Voldemort. "Cut the bullcrap, Voldemort," he spat venomously. "What did you do with Sakura?!"

"No need to worry, boy, she is safe and sound where she is," Voldemort sneered. Harry shot Voldemort a look of surprise. Did Voldemort really just say that Sakura was supposedly safe and sound wherever he had her kept? He knew the truth, that Sakura had escaped and was somewhere in Hogsmeade, but what Voldemort had said slightly shocked him.

Syaoran, however, glared as his grip on his sword tightened. "I don't believe that, Voldemort," he growled. "You hurt her with the Cruciatus Curse. Do you really expect me to believe that she's safe and sound?"

Meanwhile, Sakura was watching the exchange going on between Syaoran and Voldemort. She wanted to cry out that she was there, that she was fine, but she stayed hidden so as to not make her presence known to Voldemort. It relieved her to know that Syaoran was alright and that he had found his way back. Hearing a hissing sound, Sakura spun around and nearly leapt in shock when she saw Voldemort's pet snake Hecate slithering towards her.

_What are you doing here, girl? How did you escape from that place?_

Sakura widened her eyes. Did the snake just TALK to her? However, all she could see was its forked tongue flickering in and out of its mouth. She shook her head furiously and slammed the side of her head repeatedly against the side of one of the walls, but not too hard to give herself a concussion.

"Get it together, Sakura," she mumbled. "You're not a Parseltongue. You can't talk to snakes. The snake didn't talk to you. What you heard was just a figment of your imagination." What she didn't realize was that the snake had communicated to her in her thoughts. She snuck a sideways glance at the snake again, but to her surprise, it wasn't there. Sighing, she returned to watching the exchange between Syaoran, Voldemort, and Harry Potter. To her shock, a full-fledge duel had broke out, with Syaoran and Harry teaming up and dueling against Voldemort, who was holding up fine. She watched as curses and spells were exchanged between the trio. She wanted to help Harry and Syaoran so much, even though they were faring well, but knew she couldn't make her presence known. A low, chuckling sound caught her attention, forcing her to glance over her shoulders. Her eyes widened. There, standing before her and blocking her path, were two bulky, rough-looking men she didn't recognize.

"It's rude to stare, you know," one of them sneered, showing stained, yellowish teeth. "Haven't you ever seen a werewolf before?"

"W-werewolf?" Sakura repeated.

"Ah, you must be the pretty gal Lord Voldemort kidnapped," one of them said. "But why are you here?" He suddenly slammed Sakura against the wall, trapping her inbetween the wall and his body. "Well, since you're here, let's get acquainted with each other, hmm? The name is Lorcan. I am the current and established leader of the werewolves. I had a taste of your precious boy's blood, but I want to taste yours. It's too bad it's not a full moon tonight—you would make a fine addition to my pack."

Sakura gasped as she struggled against the werewolf's body, but to no avail. _Power, lend me a hand!_ she thought desperately as she watched Lorcan open his mouth and prepare to bite her—why, she didn't know. Wouldn't it be pointless, since it wasn't a full moon anyway? She felt a wave of magical energy envelope her and empower her. With a grunt, she gave a forceful push. Lorcan fell backwards into the opposite wall, and Sakura took the opportunity to run.

"Hey, get back here!" Lorcan shouted.

* * *

"Tell me where she is!" Syaoran shouted, firing a spell at Voldemort.

"Do you think you'll get information from me THAT easily?" Voldemort sneered as he deflected the spell. "There is a reason why I made myself the sole Secret Keeper—because I don't trust any of my followers to not give that information away. Give—"

He couldn't finish his sentence. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Sakura emerging from the gap between two shops, a wild look of fright in her eyes as she bolted, taking no notice of her surroundings as she ran. Syaoran's and Harry's eyes also widened upon seeing her, but Syaoran was most concerned about why Sakura looked so scared. Then he understood when he saw the two werewolves emerging and running after her. Anger washed through him—had they been about to take advantage of Sakura? The thought infuriated him.

Meanwhile, Voldemort was furious. He couldn't fathomed how Sakura escaped, but he also couldn't believe those fools would lose the prisoner so easily. He would surely punish them when he got back. Getting the girl back was more important now.

_Masssssster. I sssssssaw the girl. Sssssssshe was hiding out there,_ Hecate hissed to him as she slithered up to him, looking in the general area where Sakura had been hiding out.

_I noticed_, Voldemort hissed back in Parseltongue. Without warning, he used a powerful knockback jinx to throw Harry and Syaoran backwards, then turned himself into a cloud of black smoke.

"NO!" Syaoran shouted as he quickly recovered from the jinx. "GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARD! DON'T YOU DARE LAY A HAND ON HER!"

* * *

"I'll teach you to mess with us!" Keroberos roared before unleashing fireballs after fireballs at the Death Eaters and Inferi.

"Yue sure is missing out on all the fun," Ruby smirked before attacking with her crystals.

"Blimey, remind me never to mess with these folks," Ron said, his mouth gaping open in shock. His shocked façade soon disappeared, however, as he took care of a dark wizard that tried to attack Neville from behind.

"Thanks, mate!" Neville shouted.

"You're welcome!" Ron said back.

* * *

Knowing her cover was blown and that Voldemort must have spotted her, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She glanced over her shoulders to see if she was still being chased, but didn't see anyone in sight. Had she lost Lorcan? Mentally, she cursed herself for not listening to Hermione's warning more closely. Her senses suddenly heightened. A few seconds later, she heard a gasp, followed by sharp pain coursing through her body. She screamed out in agony as she fell to the ground, her body writhing in pain.

"There you are, you little bitch! How dare you make a mockery out of us!" Lance snarled angrily as he performed the Cruciatus Curse on the girl.

"Get away from her!" Keroberos roared as he fired a fireball at the dark wizard. Seeing it coming, Lance growled as he leapt out of the way, missing the fireball by a few seconds. Keroberos landed protectively in front of Sakura and growled ferociously at Lance.

"Kero-chan…" Sakura said softly, shakily rising to her feet.

"Are you alright?" he asked, sneaking a glance back at her.

Sakura nodded. "Yes." Her eyes then widened. "Watch out!" she yelled out in warning upon noticing several Stunning spells coming at them. Keroberos took notice of the Stunning spells and spread his wings out protectively to repel the red jets of magic, but to both his and Sakura's horror, the spells weren't repelled. Keroberos growled as his limbs gave out from beneath him, unable to move.

"Kero-chan!" Sakura cried out.

"I-I can't move!" Keroberos growled, his eyes wide with shock.

"Thought you could hide behind that beast, did you?" Killian sneered as he and Marlene Apparated into view.

Sakura narrowed her eyes and shouted, "I wasn't hiding! Kero-chan was just protecting me! How dare you hurt him!"

"And how dare you play us for fools!" Marlene screeched.

"That's because you _are _fools," a cold voice hissed. Sakura widened her eyes and quickly spun around to see black wisps of smoke materializing and taking on the shape of a human figure. However, what she saw almost made her scream out in fright. There, in front of her, was a balding man with blood-red eyes and thin lips. Where his nose should have been were instead two slits for nostrils, and his skin was pale white. She couldn't help but squeak and cover her own mouth with her two small hands. Sakura knew that it was Voldemort from his aura, but his appearance frightened her so. What had happened? A few minutes ago, he was a teenager, and now he was a grown, snake-like man. Though uncharacteristic of him, Voldemort couldn't help but roll his eyes at her reaction.

"What's the matter with you, girl? You look as if you've seen a ghost." However, his choice of words didn't exactly comfort her. Sakura's face appeared to turn several shades paler until Voldemort swore that she was paler than he was and looked like she was about to pass out at any moment. Her breathing quickened as she stammered out,

"G-g-g-ghost?!"

It was at that moment that Voldemort realized what the young Cardmistress' greatest fear was. It almost made him laugh because of childish it was. _Ghosts. _She was afraid of _ghosts._ However, if she was so terrified of ghosts, why didn't she seem terrified when several ghosts passed her in the hallways at Hogwarts? Then thinking more carefully, he remembered how Sakura would always have an uncomfortable expression on her face whenever a ghost passed by her and turned around, only to shake her head and tell herself that nothing was there before continuing on her merry way. And whenever the ghosts tried to greet her, especially the Fat Friar, the ghost of Hufflepuff House, Sakura would ignore them…as if she couldn't see them. Of course, she couldn't see ghosts at all. But yet, if she couldn't see ghosts, why did they frighten her so?

Ignoring her for the moment, Voldemort looked coldly at Killian and Marlene, who had a look of fear on their faces.

"You have disobeyed me. Lord Voldemort is displeased," he spoke.

"F-forgive us, my lord," Marlene whispered. "It was our mistake that the girl escaped from our grasps."

"Yes…a mistake you two will not repeat," Voldemort said coldly. His facial features contorted grossly as he aimed his wand at them. "AVADA KEDAVARA!"

"NO!" Sakura screamed out, but it was too late. In less than a few seconds, Killian and Marlene were dead, their eyes open and wide with shock. Sakura stared in horror at their dead bodies, then whipped her head around to look reproachfully at Voldemort.

"Why did you do that?!" she demanded.

"They have disobeyed my orders and must pay. Killian, especially," Voldemort said coldly. He took a step towards Sakura, who shrank back and clutched onto Kero's fur.

"How is it that you escaped?" he asked softly, trying to contain his anger.

Sakura glanced away. "That's confidential."

She squeaked when he grabbed her hair and yanked her up. A cry of pain escaped her lips as he yanked back, forcing her to tilt her head back. She could feel Voldemort's murderous glare on her, even though her eyes were closed due to wincing.

"How did you know I was here?" he demanded, changing tactics. It wasn't possible for her to know that he was here-she had been unconscious when he and his followers made the plan to come here.

"I…I had a vision about this…" Sakura gasped out. "I couldn't let you hurt my friends!" Voldemort pulled on her hair more, causing her to cry out in pain once more. "P-please…let go…it hurts…"

Voldemort looked down at her pained face, noting the beads of sweat perspiring from her forehead. He slowly loosened his hold on her hair, then released her. Sakura collapsed to the ground and rubbed at her scalp to relieve herself of the pain.

"Those mutts...they didn't sink their filthy teeth into you, did they?" he hissed.

Sakura looked up at him, surprised. "N-No..." She heard the sound of several distinct _CRACK,_ but neither she nor Voldemort paid attention to them. From their auras, Sakura knew who had arrived, but she kept her gaze focused on Voldemort. _  
_

"My lord!" Bellatrix yelled out, but Voldemort paid no heed to her. Instead, he kept his eyes trained on the girl before him, who looked back at him. Not a single word passed between them.

"Sakura, run!" Sakura heard her Herbology professor shout, but she couldn't move, as if her body was frozen stiff, as if a spell had been put on her. Voldemort raised his wand to her forehead, poking her with the tip of it. Sakura's eyes widened. So, she really was going to die, was she? A single tear rolled down her cheek. "Please, don't do this," she whispered softly.

"SAKURAAAAAAAAAAA!" Syaoran screamed out in anguish as he arrived on scene, seeing Sakura kneeling in front of Voldemort as he pressed his wand against her forehead. He felt helpless, unable to do anything. Voldemort was about to kill her point-blank, and he couldn't do a thing about it. He knew by the time he got there, Sakura would already be dead.

However, the words "Avada Kedavra" never came. Instead, Sakura felt something whack the back of her head. Immediately, she winced before opening her eyes.

"OW! That hurt!" she whimpered, then gasped in shock when she saw Voldemort changing form so that he took on the appearance of a teenage boy again. Grabbing hold of her chin, he forced her to turn her head from side to side as he inspected her. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. What was Voldemort playing at?

"Get that cut on your forehead and cheeks taken care of. It's unsightly."

Sakura widened her eyes. "Wait...you're not going to kill me?" She didn't understand it, but Voldemort stared back at her emotionlessly without saying another word. However, she swore she could see something flicker in his eyes.

"Voldemort-san?" she asked softly.


	28. Soul Switch

Chapter 28: Soul Switch

"Voldemort-san?" Sakura asked softly, waiting for his answer. He had been about to kill her, wasn't he? Why the change of heart? Of course, she was glad that she was alive, but the sudden turn of events confused her. Plus, not only did Voldemort not kill her, he also reverted back to his false teenage form. Was it because she found his adult, snake-like form terrifying? If so, why would he change his appearance for her? After all, she had quickly learned that Voldemort pleased no one but himself.

In the next second, Sakura found herself flying through the air. It had happened so fast, she didn't register what had happened until she blinked and found her arms wrapped around the neck of a man with long, silky white hair and ice blue eyes, with white and blue robes and a pair of wings that kept him afloat in the air as he supported Sakura with one arm. Her eyes widened upon realizing who it was.

"Yue-san!"

Yue said nothing, but instead fired crystal shards at Voldemort with the hand that wasn't supporting the young girl. Voldemort hissed as he threw up a Shield Charm to protect himself.

"I won't let you hurt her," Yue said coldly as he landed on a rooftop, letting Sakura get off safely. She looked worriedly up at him as he coldly glared at the Dark Lord, then shifted her gaze over to Voldemort. Voldemort glared coldly back at Yue, then lowered his gaze and snickered. Syaoran was the first to notice the snicker, which turned into a full-blown, evil laugh.

"You all think you can protect the girl, do you?" he sneered. He then directed his attention to Sakura. "You're just like Potter, Kinomoto, always hiding behind your friends, always having them protect you."

"You're wrong!" Sakura shouted from where she was. "Sure, my friends and family care a lot about me and want to protect me, but it's what they want to do! My friends and family…they give me strength! Love is strength, Voldemort-sama! They've supported me in so many ways…and I've never hid behind any of them!"

"Then, why don't you leave the side of your precious guardian and come talk to me, face to face?"

Sakura's eyes widened as she let out an inaudible gasp. She was torn on what she should do. Should she keep her distance, or go to Voldemort as he had ordered her to? She knew from his true nature that he didn't make requests, only orders. Voldemort noticed her hesitation, but didn't show it on his stoic face. Yue also noticed her hesitation, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't even think about it," he said.

"Hoe?" Sakura glanced up at him, waiting for him to explain.

"I heard about what happened," Yue said, never turning his cold glare away from Voldemort, from the evil wizard who dared to hurt his Mistress. "I do not want you to get hurt again." His eyes glowed bright blue as he rose into the sky and produced a crystal shard in one hand.

"You will die tonight," he declared coldly as he prepared to attack. "This will restore the cosmic order of things."

"You can't!" Sakura shouted suddenly, catching the attention of everyone around her, including Voldemort and his followers. She jumped down from the roof and ran over to Voldemort, where she stood in front of him with her arms spread out.

"Yue-san, as your Mistress, I order you to not attack!"

"Sakura, we love you and all, but…ARE YOU INSANE?!" Kero shouted, flying up to her. He was immensely grateful that the Stunning Spell had worn off in time for him to yell at her. "There's no good that can come from this! Sakura, why not let Yue kill him once and for all? He's not supposed to be alive in the first place!"

"Because I won't let you two kill a living creature, so long as I am your Mistress!" Sakura said firmly. She lowered her arms and her head as she murmured softly, "Besides, Voldemort-sama…wasn't going to hurt me."

"What?" Yue narrowed his eyes at Sakura's words.

"He was never going to hurt me," Sakura repeated again, this time more firmly. "I don't know why, but I have a feeling that he's not going to hurt me." She glanced over her shoulder and smiled softly at Voldemort. "Isn't that right?"

Voldemort said nothing as he coldly returned her gaze. However, instead of being intimidated, the girl continued to smile softly back at him. This caught the former Dark Lord off-guard; never before had anyone shown him compassion. They had all shown him fear and admiration for being powerful, but never true compassion. Even his old schoolmates from when he used to attend Hogwarts for real as Tom Riddle, not as Damian Roth, had become drawn to him simply because he was powerful. Then, he rose to his feet and approached Sakura, who unconsciously took a step back when she saw him lift his wand up to her.

"Not going to hurt you, you say?" he asked softly, yet there was the hint of danger laced in his tone. There was no mistaking the gasp that escaped from her lips at the same time that her eyes widened. She didn't even see Voldemort's lips move, but only saw a light blue spark manifesting from the tip of his wand. Quickly she squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to know what kind of spell he was going to use on her. However, instead of feeling pain, she felt a different sensation. This sensation felt warm and tingly. She heard a series of collective gasps, but didn't pay attention to where the gasps were coming from or why there were gasps. She just embraced the warm sensation. When it wore off, she opened her eyes again, wondering exactly what kind of spell Voldemort had used on her. However, his back was turned on her, so she couldn't see what expression was on his face.

The others, however, recognized the healing spell he used on her, one meant to take care of minor injuries such as cuts and bruises. It was a shock to them all that the darkest wizard of all time had healed a girl who was supposed to be his enemy, especially Bellatrix, who could only sputter in disbelief and open and close her mouth like a fish, producing no intelligible sounds. On one hand, she couldn't believe that the Dark Lord would show mercy towards a girl who had been a nuisance since her capture, but on the other hand, she couldn't protest his actions, lest she wanted to get cursed by Voldemort to the next century.

"That's the first time I've ever seen him use a healing spell on _anyone_, much less on an enemy!" Harry whispered to his two best friends. "What's going on?"

"It seems that our Sakura may have softened the dark lord up a little," Eriol mused. "So my suspicions were correct."

Syaoran looked sharply at the dark-haired male beside him. "She _what?_"

"Oh come on, Li," Eriol said with a smirk that Syaoran hated so much, "You know better than anyone else what Sakura is like. She softened up _your_ heart, after all."

"Yeah, but I didn't go around killing everyone," Syaoran muttered under his breath.

He glared at Voldemort. "Just what are you trying to play at here?"

Voldemort smirked. "I don't know what you're talking about, boy."

"You're showing mercy towards a young girl," Harry said firmly. "A girl who has only been at Hogwarts for a year. You have never shown mercy towards anyone before. You didn't show mercy towards the people you killed, whether they were against you or for you. Why is she any different?"

"If I may?" Eriol spoke up, stepping forward.

Sakura, Syaoran, Harry, and even Voldemort turned to the Clow Reed reincarnate with surprise, although Voldemort hid it well. Neville nodded, urging the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to continue.

"Sakura. You've transferred a bit of your magic into him, did you not?"

Sakura nodded slowly, her eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "Y-yes. How did you-?"

"Know? That's not important here, Sakura-san," Eriol told her gently. "What's important is that when you transferred a bit of your magic into him, though unwillingly, you've also transferred some of your love and kindness over."

"I…did what?" Sakura asked in shock.

"She did WHAT?!" Voldemort, Harry, Ron, Neville, Hermione, and Bellatrix yelled at the same time before they glared at each other; Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville glaring at Voldemort and his followers and vice versa.

"It makes perfect sense," Eriol continued, his voice calm. It was like he was talking about the weather to casual friends. "Sakura, your heart is the most pure out of anyone, full of love and kindness. You've never truly hated anyone. Think back, Sakura. When you thought you lost the Final Judgment with Yue, when you temporarily found yourself in a dream where love did not exist, before you woke up from that dream and defeated Yue…how did that feel?"

Sakura frowned. "It was terrible. I couldn't stand it. I constantly felt like something was missing. Everyone was going about their daily lives, but it felt like something was missing. And I forgot all about it until I had to capture the Nothing."

"The Nothing?" Hermione asked.

"It was a card that negates everything. It creates negative space, gets rid of things, makes them seem as if they never existed," Syaoran quickly explained.

"But that card is now fused with the first card I made out of my own magic," Sakura added. She then blushed. "So it's now the Hope. I haven't used the Hope yet though, so I don't know what it can do. But the consequences that came with capturing the Nothing was that I would forget about my feelings toward Syaoran."

"But it targeted me instead," Syaoran replied. "However, the card Sakura created apparently interfered and merged with the Nothing. I think, had that not happened, I truly would've lost my feelings towards her. But even then, I was so sure that I would fall in love with her again, because of her patience, kindness, and understanding."

Eriol nodded. "Sakura has never harbored any ill feelings towards anyone. Even when someone was cold to you, you still kept a smile on your face, didn't you, Sakura-san?"

Realizing what Eriol was getting at now, Sakura beamed and nodded. "Hai!" she answered in Japanese.

Voldemort also realized what Eriol was getting at and widened his eyes in fury. "No…NO. I will not have these weak feelings of _love_," he spat out the word_ love_, "circulating inside me! I do not have time for these weak feelings!"

"Well unless you snuff it out like a candle, it'll stay in you," Eriol said calmly. "And even if you do decide to kill Sakura, as long as you have her magic in your veins, that feeling of love will stay inside you. While it's insignificantly small now, the more you're in contact with Sakura, the stronger it will grow. If you don't want that happening, Lord Voldemort, then I would strongly suggest you leave her alone."

Mentally, Voldemort let out a string of curses. He would not show any of them, especially not his followers and enemies, weakness. Showing weakness was beneath him and uncharacteristic of him, after all. Still, he was grudgingly glad that Eriol had explained why he had felt that weird feeling since that morning, when he first forced Sakura to transfer a bit of her magic into him to sustain himself.

"Enough of this foolishness!" Voldemort screamed. "So I have the girl's seed of…_love_…in me. Fine, I'll snuff it out like a candle." He looked at his followers and the small pack of werewolves, led by Lorcan, who had decided to join him in the battle. "ATTACK!"

"Actually," Sakura said as she casually flicked a card into the air. "They won't." The card glowed briefly for a moment, but nothing happened instantly. Within the next minute, however, she heard the surprised cries and yells of "I'M STUCK!" and "WHAT IS THIS?!" Not too long after, though, their cries were silenced.

The Ministry officials and the Herbology professor had their jaws dropped when they saw ice forming over the bodies of the Death Eaters, dark wizards, and werewolves, immbolizing them. The only one who wasn't frozen over was Voldemort. Voldemort looked absolutely livid that a little girl defeated his army so easily, and by the looks of it, she had also silenced them, for no sound produced from their lips no matter how they shaped their lips. However, when he went to glare at her, he was slightly taken aback by the thoughtful expression on her face as she looked back at him.

Eriol took the moment to clear his throat.

"Mr. Potter, please direct these dark wizards back to Azkaban," he said politely.

Harry nodded. Quickly, he, Ron, and Hermione produced magical ropes to gather and bind all the dark wizards together. "Thank you for your help," he said. Eriol nodded back.

"It was a pleasure.

Looking curiously at Sakura, Ron asked, "Miss Kinomoto, do you plan on killing Voldemort yourself? Surely you wouldn't let him live; it is unnatural for a person who was dead to be allowed to live again."

Sakura gave the red-haired man a sharp look. "I don't kill!" she protested. "If I don't allow Yue-san and Kero-chan to kill, what makes you think I will? And well, if a person was resurrected, well, doesn't that mean they get a second chance at life or something?"

"W-well…maybe," Ron stammered. "But Voldemort is dangerous. Surely you wouldn't want a psychopath like him running around?"

Sakura smiled sweetly. Though it was quick, Voldemort caught the sudden mischievous glint in her sparkling green eyes. He didn't know why, but suddenly, he desired going to Azkaban or even dying again, for he didn't like that look in the girl's eyes. It indicated trouble. He watched as the Cardmistress turned to her sun guardian, in his pathetic puny form that Voldemort didn't find threatening, with a bright smile on her face.

"Kero-chan, could you come here, please?"

"What's up, Sakura?" the plush toy-like creature asked, flying up to her.

Immediately, Sakura leaned over and whispered something into Kero's ear. Kero nodded as he listened to what Sakura was saying. Meanwhile, no one else knew what was being said between them, not even Voldemort. He tried using Legilimency, but was angered by the fact that Sakura had been prepared and mentally blocked off her thoughts. He saw an evil glint twinkle on the stuffed animal creature's face, followed by an evil grin and rubbing of the paws.

"Oh yeah," he said.

Sakura giggled. "Just don't go _too _crazy like you did with Syaoran, okay?"

"Pssh, I can have _way_ more fun with this than I ever did with the kid," Kero boasted, pounding his tiny little chest.

Catching wind of their exchange, Syaoran's eyes widened. "Sakura…you're not thinking of using _that_ card…are you?"

Sakura grinned as she looked at him. "Well, it's an appropriate punishment, I should think. He'll be powerless anyway. Only Kero-chan can use his own powers."

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Voldemort and Hermione shouted, though Voldemort was the only one screaming at the top of his lungs. Hermione, however, had asked the question in a much gentler tone. Without warning, Kero suddenly flew over to Voldemort and tapped the dark lord on the forehead.

"NOW!" Kero shouted.

Sakura nodded as she flicked another card into the air, watching as it spun and hovered in front of her. _Switch the souls of the two in front of me! CHANGE!_ She thought.

Instantaneously, her magic circle appeared beneath Voldemort and Kero, who was now hanging onto the back of Voldemort's robes to prevent the dark lord from being able to pry him off. A shroud of magical energy soon engulfed them completely, but eventually died away. When it cleared, everything looked relatively normal to everyone, except Kero was no longer holding onto the back of Voldemort's robes, and Voldemort had taken the appearance of his true self. His snake Hecate, sensing that something was not right, hissed at the two in front of her.

Hermione looked kindly at Sakura. "Pardon me, Sakura, but what was—" Her question was abruptly interrupted when a loud yell came from the small golden yellow creature.

"What the-?!" he shouted, looking down at his small paw. "I-I'M A STUFFED ANIMAL!" He then looked up at Voldemort and his anger deepened. "You. Give me back my body this instant!"

Voldemort scoffed. "Hey, I thought I would look handsome and that I would get your stupid pretty-boy disguise, but no, I get this ugly stupid body of yours instead. How much money do you have anyway? Hopefully you have enough for plastic surgery." What shocked everyone was not only the words that came from his mouth, but also the fact that he spoke with a non-English accent.

If looks could kill, Kero looked like he could murder Voldemort right that second. "You will do NO such thing with my body," he hissed.

As the two exchanged banters with each other, Harry looked back and forth between the two of them, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What exactly was going on, and why was Voldemort acting so weird? Where did his foreign accent suddenly come from?

"Miss Kinomoto," he began. "What did you do?"

Sakura smiled. "I switched their souls."

'Kero's' head swiveled around to glare at her. "WHAT?!"

"YOU DID WHAT?" Bellatrix screeched. "You rotten girl, switch them back now!"

Syaoran couldn't help but snicker openly. "That's right…_my lord,_" he taunted. "You are now the stuffed animal and the stuffed animal is now you. Maybe that will teach you to mess with sorcerers and to attack innocent people."

"Don't worry," Sakura added quickly, seeing Voldemort, in Kero's body, looking more and more angry with each passing second. "It only lasts a day. Tomorrow, at this exact place and this exact time, I can switch you two back."

Eriol smiled. "I must say, this is the most evil thing I've seen come out of you, Sakura-san."

Sakura only giggled. "Kero-chan, there are spells to change one's appearance, you know."

"Really?! OH THANK GOD. I don't want to be ugly!" Kero-Voldemort wailed tears of relief.

"How dare you call me ugly," Voldemort-Kero hissed.

"Alright, enough bickering," Eriol said calmly as he waved his staff in the air. A red aura covered Kero-Voldemort, who closed his eyes as he felt a transformation take place. Soon, he looked exactly like Voldemort's disguise again. Kero-Voldemort sighed in relief.

"Oh thank you!"

"W-w-well," Harry stammered after a while. "Miss Kinomoto, we'll, ah, leave Voldemort up to you then. We'll be taking the rest to Azkaban." He nodded at his two best friends. Ron grabbed hold of one end of the magical ropes binding the Death Eaters together and Disapparated, along with his wife. Harry followed soon after, leaving Neville, Syaoran, Sakura, Eriol, Voldemort-Kero, and Kero-Voldemort behind. Sakura went over to Voldemort-Kero and gently scooped the yellow creature into her hands.

Voldemort hated feeling so powerless, so helpless. All he could do was glare up at her. "Put me down, girl!"

Sakura frowned. "My name is Sakura. Sa-ku-ra," she said, enunciating each syllable. "Anyway, do you really want to stay here, or do you want to come back to Hogwarts with me?"

Voldemort-Kero folded his tiny paws over his small chest. "Fine," he hissed. "But you will be responsible for taking care of Hecate. You will allow her into your bedchambers."

"Your snake will do no such thing," Yue said dangerously.

"Really now, guardian? I am the only one who can control Hecate," Voldemort-Kero spoke. "I am the only one who can tame her. If Kinomoto wishes to keep me with her, then the snake will have to go with her too."

Syaoran gritted his teeth. Instantly he pointed the tip of his sword at Voldemort's pet snake. "Try ANYTHING on her and you will instantly be beheaded, got that?!" He didn't know why he was speaking to the snake. He wasn't even sure if the snake even understood what he said, because he sure wasn't speaking in Parseltongue, not that he ever wanted to learn that vile language. As gifted as he was, he knew that Parseltongue was an inherited ability, and that almost no one could learn how to speak the language. Besides, Parseltongue was associated with dark roots, anyway.

Suddenly, a loud shriek, followed by a squeal, rang out.

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

Widening her eyes at the voice, Sakura turned around, but suddenly found a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and dark, purplish-black hair tickling her cheeks. With shock, Sakura could only sputter as she came face to face with sapphire eyes.

"T-Tomoyo-chan?!"

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, I've had midterms left and right. Well, looks like Tomoyo didn't listen to Syaoran about staying safe, LOL. Also, now that Sakura has used the Change to switch Kero's and Voldemort's soul, how will that go? All in all, this isn't the greatest chapter, but I've always wanted to write about Voldemort experiencing the powers of the Change Card and having him switch souls with Kero, and to also show the consequences of him taking a bit of Sakura's powers to help sustain him. We also know how incredibly perceptive Tomoyo is; how long will it take her to notice that Kero isn't actually Kero? Originally I was going to have Sakura spare Bellatrix a trip to Azkaban with the other Death Eaters and have her return to Hogwarts, but with her magic bound so that she can't hurt anyone, but then decided against it, because Bellatrix seems the type who would rather go to Azkaban than have her magic be restricted and bound.


End file.
